Jive makes collaboration even more 'social'

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By Jeff Feinman

August 25, 2008 — Jive Software has improved e-mail capabilities and created more of a social-networking atmosphere in its flagship collaboration product.

Clearspace 2.5, released last week, integrates with Salesforce.com to make business information, such as details from recent meetings or key contacts, more readily available, Jive executives said. Users can participate in Clearspace collaboration projects via e-mail, mobile devices and external Web sites. Users also can blog or create documents from their inboxes or mobile devices, according to the company.

“Clearspace 2.5 introduces new ways for users to access communities from external sites, applications and platforms, making them able to participate wherever they may be,” said Dave Hersh, CEO of Jive.

Clearspace is an enterprise collaboration application that combines content creation tools with input from a community of users and project collaborators. It can interact with external customer communities, Jive said, and brings together Web 2.0 attributes and traditional communications tools, allowing companies to work faster and with greater cohesion among group members.

In this version, administrators can extend communities into other Web pages by pasting a JavaScript snippet, the company said. This allows marketing and technical support teams to monitor additional discussions.

A new rich text editor is designed to make text editing easier for users who lack training. Company executives said it simplifies adding images and video, creating and editing tables, and copying files from Microsoft Word and Excel.

The new version also provides a global search and replace of application terminology, so that companies can operate with their own language. Additionally, administrators can configure the look and feel of Clearspace by changing color schemes and logos, Jive said.

To put a focus on social networking in its collaborative environment, Jive said it has created "Twitter-like" functionality in Clearspace so that users can follow one another's activities. There are search functions where users can find groups of people based on similar profile attributes, and users can create or join social groups based on similar areas of interest.

“With our enhanced search, you can instantly see results across content, people and places within the organization,” Hersh said. “We’ve also made it easier to find people with specific expertise. You can browse through all the people in your organization, or filter down to the exact person or group you need. Once you find the person you’re looking for, you can add them as a connection, which is a simple way to establish a network of coworkers within an organization.”

Related Search Term(s): e-mail, professional development, Jive

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