Socialtext

I noticed today that our friends at Socialtext can't seem to embed a Flickr slideshow into their wiki.  That's so sad that I figured I host one for them here since it's super simple to do so in MindTouch Deki. 

Unfortunately, I can't help with the lack of change highlights in their RSS feeds. How do they know what has changed on a page?  They must be brainiacs!

With the lack of downloads there isn't much I can do either.  I mean, they already have more funding and press coverage than we do, but they still only achieve 3% of our downloads (check for yourself).  How is that possible?

MindTouch Deki Downloads

Today's MindTouch Deki to Socialtext download ratio is 46:1.

Socialtext Open Downloads

But, I need to give credit where credit is due!  I truly envy Socialtext's wikrad.  I mean I wish I could access MindTouch Deki from within VI by using keyboard commands.  You have to see the video to believe it.  It's like a flashback to Wargames!

Instead, our users must content themselves with a drag-and-drop Windows interface that only allows them to manage, reorganize, upload, and download wiki pages and files by using the mouse.  We simply weren't able to add keyboard support because of limited development resources... :(

Another thing Socialtext users can look forward to is automatic upgrades!  Why didn't we think of that?!?  Oh wait, we did!  MindTouch has provided automatic upgrades since the beginning (well, with exception of the first release).  I mean, really, what self-respecting software company does not provide an automatic upgrade path?

How about permissions?  Socialtext being designed for the enterprise must certainly be more sophisticated!  Nope.  Socialtext can only assign permissions at the workspace-level.  Which means that if you have a page in one workspace and you want to display it in another, tough luck.  Copy/paste is your only option.  In MindTouch Deki, permissions are applied at the page-level.  But it gets better!  Permissions are even applied to page inclusions allowing you to create a composite page that contains both read/write and read-only content.

Well, how about presentation capabilities?  That's easily answered: MindTouch.com is powered by MindTouch Deki, while Socialtext.com is powered by Drupal.  Oops!

Ok, ok, enough of the sarcasm.  Surely, there must be something positive to report about Socialtext.  Well, the good news is that with less than 12,000 downloads worldwide, very few people have been subjected to this subpar product.

Skeptic? No problem! Try it out for yourself.  Both products are freely available for download and use.  Take the MindTouch Deki vs. Socialtext Open challenge and discover the truth!

Cheers,

- Steve
Founder & CTO, MindTouch