Socialtext just released version 4.5.2 of its enterprise social media suite to hosted customers. The new version features several new features including an OpenSocial widget builder for both developers and non-developers, Google Analytics integration and a new HTML5-based mobile interface. The new features fit into the ongoing trends of putting development tools into the hands of non-developers, the increased role of analytics and HTML5 making its way into the enterprise.
Widget Builder
Socialtext already has the ability to add OpenSocial widgets to its dashboard. Now there is an editor built into Socialtext for creating and editing these widgets. Socialtext Director of Product Marketing Alan Lepofsky hopes the editor will be simple enough to enable non-developers to take widgets from other locations, such as iGoogle, and modify them for use on their own dashboards. Those with development experience will be able to create and modify widgets within this interface and take advantage of Webhooks to access Socialtext features.
Google Analytics
Socialtext has some analytics features baked-in, but admins will now be able to use Google Analytics to surface additional information. “For Socialtext internally it’s been really cool – we know more about what browsers and OSes our own staff our using, what screen resolutions they’re using, and more,” Lepofsky told us.
HTML5-Based Mobile Interface
Socialtext users with mobile devices that support HTML5 will now be able to access all the features available in the normal version of Socialtext. Some features that were not supported in the old version of the mobile site include threaded comments, comments on workspace pages and sending direct messages via profile pages.
Socialtext is not yet offering native apps, but Lepofsky tells us that Socialtext’s customers wanted to see mobile sites first. This approach saves Socialtext customers from having to deal with deploying apps to mobile devices.
