Wiki Pioneer Socialtext Incorporates Spreadsheet Application From Dan
Bricklin to Create a Distributed Spreadsheet
PALO ALTO, Calif., June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Socialtext, the leading
provider of enterprise wiki and social software solutions, today announced
SocialCalc(R), a multi-user wiki-based spreadsheet program that simplifies
version control, reduces errors and increases productivity. On the heels of
its recent announcements -- Socialtext Dashboard and Socialtext People and
its four new solutions areas -- the SociaCalc announcement underscores the
company's vision as the innovator and leader in business social software.
"SocialCalc is the next room in the Business Social Software house we
are building on our enterprise wiki foundation," remarks Socialtext CEO
Eugene Lee. "This announcement is exciting because the social spreadsheet
effortlessly bridges the generations of the existing workforce and the
upcoming workforce and does not require that individuals need to re-learn
an existing application."
"The timing of SocialCalc is perfect -- we were in need of a wikified
spreadsheet that had all of the utility of Google Docs without the
datamining," remarks Brandon Stafford, Principal Engineer at GreenMountain
Engineering. "The SocialCalc interface is easy for anyone who knows
spreadsheets. The automatic revision tracking eliminates the emailing of
spreadsheets. That kind of simplification is crucial for our engineering
consulting business."
-- SocialCalc -- through its integrated editing, discussions and current
version control the program prohibits errors from centralized
aggregation changes because the user always has the correct and current
content accessible. Compared to a traditional spreadsheet sent via
email, a sheet on a shared drive or document management system, this
program can break work into workable increments and provide a closer to
synchronous serial process. Individuals can work on their own
section(s) and have a roll-up dashboard, an audit trail of changes and
simple notification updates.
In 2005, Bricklin, co-creator of the trailblazing VisiCalc spreadsheet
program, announced that he had started working on an Open Source
spreadsheet that "combines some of the ease of authoring and multi-person
edit ability of a wiki with the familiar formatting and data organizing
metaphor of a spreadsheet." Socialtext co-founder Ross Mayfield wanted to
evolve another Personal Computing application into Social Software. In 2006
they announced an agreement for Bricklin to finish his initial standalone
server-based product, which was released in 2007 as SocialCalc. Using what
was learned in this product, Bricklin embarked on a complete redeployment
of just the editing and calculation part of SocialCalc in a much more
polished and robust, client-based Ajax implementation. Socialtext engineers
have worked with Bricklin to integrate this new spreadsheet "engine" into
the Business Social Software platform -- giving it the benefits of sharing,
tagging, version control, and enterprise-level security and permissioning.
"Traditionally, wikis have centered on paragraphs of text and have
proven invaluable for dealing with information in that form," said Dan
Bricklin. "I am thrilled at how we have been able to bring spreadsheet
editing into the wiki environment. Business people get the familiar layout,
formatting, and calculation functionality of a spreadsheet together with
the organic multi-page building and sharing functionality of a wiki. The
spreadsheet metaphor has proven to be one of the most popular ways to
organize, analyze, and store a vast range of types of information. With the
addition of SocialCalc, Socialtext now has an even more powerful tool to
let groups develop and keep track of their important data and ideas."
The SocialCalc spreadsheet engine is also a project on the One Laptop
per Child Program, a non-profit directive to empower children of developing
countries to learn by providing one connected laptop to every school-age
child.
SocialCalc is currently in private Beta on the Business Social Software
platform with Socialtext customers and will be commercially available
within 90 days. To learn about the Beta program or get a demonstration,
contact Socialtext sales. Further information is available on the press
wiki http://www.socialtext.net/st-press/
About Socialtext
As the first wiki company, Socialtext leads the industry in applying
next generation Web 2.0 technologies to the critical challenges facing
businesses. Web 2.0 holds the promise of dramatically increasing business
productivity, stimulating greater innovation, and creating tighter
connections between employees, and with partners, suppliers and customers.
With a powerful Business Social Software platform -- Socialtext
wiki-centric social software solutions are designed for any organization
that wants to accelerate team communications, better enable knowledge
sharing, foster collaboration, and build online communities. Today, over
4,000 organizations use Socialtext, including BASF, CondeNet, Epitaph
Records, Humana, IKEA, Intel, MicroStrategy, MWW Group, Nokia, Ogilvy PR,
SAP, Symantec, USA Today and Washington Post, among others. More
information on Socialtext can be found at http://www.socialtext.com.
SOURCE Socialtext
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Related links:
http://www.socialtext.com
CONTACT:
Gina von Esmarch, +1-415-203-4660,
gvon@vocecomm.com, or Yasemin Krause, +1-415-848-2579,
ykrause@vocecomm.com, both of Voce Communications for Socialtext
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