Socialtext builds mobile web apps for collaboration

Socialtext builds mobile web apps for collaboration

Socialtext, a company that sells collaborative tools like wikis to businesses, is seriously expanding its  availability on mobile phones. But rather than building native, downloadable applications for the iPhone, the BlackBerry, and other devices, the Palo Alto, Calif. company has created a mobile website that should (hopefully) work on all smartphones.

Socialtext President and co-founder Ross Mayfield says the mobile version of Socialtext should includes almost all the features found on its downloadable application Socialtext Desktop… Continue Reading

Collaboration software Socialtext goes free for up to 50 users

Collaboration software Socialtext goes free for up to 50 users

Socialtext, which offers collaboration tools like wikis and microblogging for businesses, is trying to reach a more mainstream audience with a new price: Free.

The new version of Socialtext is called the Socialtext Free 50, and as the name implies, it doesn’t cost anything for up to 50 users. It sounds like a classic “freemium” model (i.e., lure in users with a free product and make money by convincing some of them to pay for the… Continue Reading

Twitter went main street yesterday, goes enterprise today

Twitter went main street yesterday, goes enterprise today

Last month, micro-blogging site Twitter went mainstream, at least according to my own litmus test: The hosts of my local radio station here in the Bay Area talked about a guy who lost his job offer from Cisco for tweeting how he hated the job. And my hairdresser told me she finally was on Twitter, after saying in February she’d never heard of it. Twitter is everywhere.

And now, in April, Twitter is going one step… Continue Reading

Local yogurt store tells blogger that Steve Jobs is “in great health”

Local yogurt store tells blogger that Steve Jobs is “in great health”

Amid a flurry of (disputed) reports and rumors about Apple chief executive Steve Jobs’ “rapidly declining health,” blogger Robert Scoble did some field work to dig for the truth today.

Well okay, he was in a yogurt shop with his friend, Socialtext cofounder Ross Mayfield, when Mayfield mentioned he had seen Jobs there in the past. So Scoble decided to ask the person working behind the counter if they’d seen Jobs recently. And guess what? They… Continue Reading

Socialtext offers “social software” to big companies, raises cash

Socialtext offers “social software” to big companies, raises cash

Socialtext, the early wiki company, has raised $9.5 million in a third round of financing.

Socialtext is one of a number companies loading delivering “social software” to large companies, helping employees collaborate in real-time on documents in ways they haven’t done in the past. It has recently expanded beyond mere wikis, or Web pages that multiple people can edit at the same time, and now offers multiple social networking tools, such as social bookmarking, where employees… Continue Reading

Wetpaint raises $9.5M for consumer wikis, meanwhile Jot is absent

Wetpaint raises $9.5M for consumer wikis, meanwhile Jot is absent

Wetpaint, the Seattle start-up that lets people build Wikis — or sites where multiple people can edit the same pages — has raised $9.5 million to grab more market share.

The move comes after Google bought popular Wiki site, Jotspot, last year and closed that company to new users. VentureBeat tried out various Wikis last year, and found Jotspot the most intuitive. Wetpaint is easy to use, but we didn’t like the loud advertising present on… Continue Reading

UPDATE: Intel confirms investments in Socialtext, SpikeSource, Six Apart, Simplefeed, Newsgator & Topio

See our stories here (scroll down) and here (on Topio). Total amounts of Intel investments are undisclosed.

(Update: To clarify, Intel has made equity investments in Six Apart and SpikeSource, but has only signed warranty deals with the other companies, essentially giving Intel the right to purchase equity once the companies meet certain peformance criteria).

Web 2.0 investment booms (data on big players & note on Intel)

Web 2.0 investment booms (data on big players & note on Intel)

Updated

Web 2.0 start-up activity is hot, and here’s the latest data.

Venture capitalists invested $455.5 million into Web 2.0 companies in the first three quarters of the year, more than twice the amount invested over the same period last year.

This comes from the latest survey by Dow Jones VentureOne, which continues to do the best research on the Web 2.0 area. It gets help from accounting firm Ernst & Young.

Overall, more than $1.63 billion has been… Continue Reading

Digest of lastest news from Google machine

Digest of lastest news from Google machine

(Updated: Corrected PBWiki seed amount and added reference to Seraph investor)

Here’s the latest news on the Google bull in the Silicon Valley china shop:

Google unveils a Gmail application via your mobile phone — Phone must be Java enabled. It lets you get Gmail directly, bypassing browser.

Socialtext launches second round of Wiki Wars — After Google buys the wiki company Jot, competitors in the wiki industry scrambled to respond. Chief among them is Socialtext, which took issue… Continue Reading