diff --git a/webapp/src/edu/ucsf/vitro/opensocial/OpenSocialSmokeTests.java b/webapp/src/edu/ucsf/vitro/opensocial/OpenSocialSmokeTests.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..76a9b54e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/webapp/src/edu/ucsf/vitro/opensocial/OpenSocialSmokeTests.java
@@ -0,0 +1,564 @@
+/* $This file is distributed under the terms of the license in /doc/license.txt$ */
+
+package edu.ucsf.vitro.opensocial;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.net.Socket;
+import java.net.SocketTimeoutException;
+import java.net.URL;
+import java.sql.Connection;
+import java.sql.ResultSet;
+import java.sql.SQLException;
+import java.sql.Statement;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import javax.servlet.ServletContext;
+import javax.servlet.ServletContextEvent;
+import javax.servlet.ServletContextListener;
+
+import org.apache.commons.dbcp.BasicDataSource;
+import org.apache.commons.httpclient.HttpClient;
+import org.apache.commons.httpclient.HttpStatus;
+import org.apache.commons.httpclient.methods.GetMethod;
+import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;
+import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
+import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
+
+import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.config.ConfigurationProperties;
+import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.startup.StartupStatus;
+import edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.utils.threads.VitroBackgroundThread;
+
+/**
+ * Do some quick checks to see whether the OpenSocial stuff is configured and
+ * working.
+ */
+public class OpenSocialSmokeTests implements ServletContextListener {
+	private static final String PROPERTY_SHINDIG_URL = "OpenSocial.shindigURL";
+	private static final String PROPERTY_SHINDIG_TOKEN_KEY_FILE = "OpenSocial.tokenKeyFile";
+	private static final String PROPERTY_SHINDIG_TOKEN_SERVICE = "OpenSocial.tokenService";
+
+	private static final String PROPERTY_DB_DRIVER = "VitroConnection.DataSource.driver";
+	private static final String PROPERTY_DB_JDBC_URL = "VitroConnection.DataSource.url";
+	private static final String PROPERTY_DB_USERNAME = "VitroConnection.DataSource.username";
+	private static final String PROPERTY_DB_PASSWORD = "VitroConnection.DataSource.password";
+
+	private static final String FILENAME_SHINDIG_PROPERTIES = "shindig.orng.properties";
+
+	/*
+	 * If a connection fails in the tester thread, how long do we wait before
+	 * trying again?
+	 */
+	private static final long SLEEP_INTERVAL = 10000; // 10 seconds
+
+	private ServletContext ctx;
+	private ConfigurationProperties configProps;
+	private List<Warning> warnings = new ArrayList<Warning>();
+
+	private String shindigBaseUrl;
+	private String tokenServiceHost;
+	private int tokenServicePort;
+
+	/**
+	 * When the system starts up, run the tests.
+	 */
+	@Override
+	public void contextInitialized(ServletContextEvent sce) {
+		ctx = sce.getServletContext();
+		StartupStatus ss = StartupStatus.getBean(ctx);
+		configProps = ConfigurationProperties.getBean(ctx);
+
+		/*
+		 * If OpenSocial is not configured in deploy.properties, skip the tests.
+		 */
+		if (!configurationPresent()) {
+			ss.info(this, "The OpenSocial connection is not configured.");
+			return;
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * Run all of the non-threaded tests. If any fail, skip the threaded
+		 * tests.
+		 */
+		checkDatabaseTables();
+		checkShindigConfigFile();
+		checkTokenKeyFile();
+		checkTokenServiceInfo();
+		if (!warnings.isEmpty()) {
+			for (Warning w : warnings) {
+				w.warn(ss);
+			}
+			return;
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * Run the threaded tests.
+		 */
+		ss.info(this, "Starting threads for OpenSocial smoke tests");
+		new ShindigTestThread(this, ss, shindigBaseUrl).start();
+		new TokenServiceTestThread(this, ss, tokenServiceHost, tokenServicePort)
+				.start();
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Get the base URL for the Shindig server. If none, then the whole thing is
+	 * disabled.
+	 */
+	private boolean configurationPresent() {
+		String shindigUrl = configProps.getProperty(PROPERTY_SHINDIG_URL);
+		if (StringUtils.isNotEmpty(shindigUrl)) {
+			this.shindigBaseUrl = shindigUrl;
+			return true;
+		} else {
+			return false;
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Check that we can connect to the database, and query one of the Shindig
+	 * tables.
+	 */
+	private void checkDatabaseTables() {
+		BasicDataSource dataSource = null;
+		Connection conn = null;
+		Statement stmt = null;
+		ResultSet rset = null;
+		try {
+			dataSource = new BasicDataSource();
+			dataSource.setDriverClassName(getProperty(PROPERTY_DB_DRIVER));
+			dataSource.setUrl(getProperty(PROPERTY_DB_JDBC_URL));
+			dataSource.setUsername(getProperty(PROPERTY_DB_USERNAME));
+			dataSource.setPassword(getProperty(PROPERTY_DB_PASSWORD));
+
+			conn = dataSource.getConnection();
+			stmt = conn.createStatement();
+			rset = stmt.executeQuery("select * from shindig_apps");
+		} catch (NoSuchPropertyException e) {
+			warnings.add(new Warning(e.getMessage()));
+		} catch (SQLException e) {
+			if (e.getMessage().contains("doesn't exist")) {
+				warnings.add(new Warning("The Shindig tables don't exist "
+						+ "in the database. Was shindig_orng_tables.sql "
+						+ "run to set them up?", e));
+			} else {
+				warnings.add(new Warning(
+						"Can't access the Shindig database tables", e));
+			}
+		} finally {
+			try {
+				if (rset != null) {
+					rset.close();
+				}
+			} catch (Exception e) {
+				e.printStackTrace();
+			}
+			try {
+				if (stmt != null) {
+					stmt.close();
+				}
+			} catch (Exception e) {
+				e.printStackTrace();
+			}
+			try {
+				if (conn != null) {
+					conn.close();
+				}
+			} catch (Exception e) {
+				e.printStackTrace();
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Check that the Shindig configuration file is present in the classpath.
+	 */
+	private void checkShindigConfigFile() {
+		URL url = this.getClass()
+				.getResource("/" + FILENAME_SHINDIG_PROPERTIES);
+		if (url == null) {
+			String message = "Can't find the '" + FILENAME_SHINDIG_PROPERTIES
+					+ "' file in the classpath. ";
+			message += "Has the Tomcat classpath been set to include the "
+					+ "Shindig config directory? "
+					+ "(inside the Vitro home directory) ";
+			message += "Was the openSocial build script run? "
+					+ "('ant -file openSocialBuild.xml')";
+			warnings.add(new Warning(message));
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Check that the Token Key file has been specified in deploy.properties,
+	 * and that it actually does exist.
+	 */
+	private void checkTokenKeyFile() {
+		try {
+			String tokenFilename = getProperty(PROPERTY_SHINDIG_TOKEN_KEY_FILE);
+			File tokenFile = new File(tokenFilename);
+			if (!tokenFile.exists()) {
+				warnings.add(new Warning(
+						"Token key file for Shindig does not exist: '"
+								+ tokenFilename + "'"));
+			} else if (!tokenFile.isFile()) {
+				warnings.add(new Warning(
+						"Token key file for Shindig is not a file: '"
+								+ tokenFilename + "'"));
+			}
+		} catch (NoSuchPropertyException e) {
+			warnings.add(new Warning(e.getMessage()));
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Get the Token Service info from deploy.properties. It must be in the form
+	 * of host:port, and may not refer to localhost.
+	 */
+	private void checkTokenServiceInfo() {
+		String tsInfo = configProps.getProperty(PROPERTY_SHINDIG_TOKEN_SERVICE);
+		if (StringUtils.isEmpty(tsInfo)) {
+			warnings.add(new Warning("There is no value for '"
+					+ PROPERTY_SHINDIG_TOKEN_SERVICE + "' in deploy.properties"));
+			return;
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * If the parameter is invalid, use this message.
+		 */
+		String warningText = "The '" + PROPERTY_SHINDIG_TOKEN_SERVICE
+				+ "' parameter is set to \"" + tsInfo
+				+ "\". It must be in the form [hostname]:[port]. "
+				+ "For example, \"myhost.mydomain.edu:8777\". "
+				+ "The hostname may be an IP address, "
+				+ "but it may not be \"localhost\" or \"127.0.0.1\"";
+
+		int firstColon = tsInfo.indexOf(':');
+		if (firstColon <= 0) {
+			warnings.add(new Warning(warningText));
+			return;
+		}
+
+		int lastColon = tsInfo.lastIndexOf(':');
+		if (firstColon != lastColon) {
+			warnings.add(new Warning(warningText));
+			return;
+		}
+
+		tokenServiceHost = tsInfo.substring(0, firstColon);
+		if (("localhost".equals(tokenServiceHost))
+				|| ("127.0.0.1".equals(tokenServiceHost))) {
+			warnings.add(new Warning(warningText));
+			return;
+		}
+
+		try {
+			tokenServicePort = Integer.parseInt(tsInfo
+					.substring(firstColon + 1));
+		} catch (Exception e) { // probably a NumberFormatException
+			warnings.add(new Warning(warningText, e));
+		}
+	}
+
+	private String getProperty(String key) throws NoSuchPropertyException {
+		String value = configProps.getProperty(key);
+		if (StringUtils.isEmpty(value)) {
+			throw new NoSuchPropertyException(key);
+		} else {
+			return value;
+		}
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void contextDestroyed(ServletContextEvent sce) {
+		// nothing to destroy
+	}
+
+	// ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+	// Helper classes
+	// ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+	private static class NoSuchPropertyException extends Exception {
+		NoSuchPropertyException(String key) {
+			super("There is no value for '" + key + "' in deploy.properties");
+		}
+	}
+
+	private class Warning {
+		private final String message;
+		private final Throwable cause;
+
+		Warning(String message) {
+			this.message = message;
+			this.cause = null;
+		}
+
+		Warning(String message, Throwable cause) {
+			this.message = message;
+			this.cause = cause;
+		}
+
+		void warn(StartupStatus ss) {
+			if (cause == null) {
+				ss.warning(OpenSocialSmokeTests.this, message);
+			} else {
+				ss.warning(OpenSocialSmokeTests.this, message, cause);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	private static class ShindigTestThread extends VitroBackgroundThread {
+		private final OpenSocialSmokeTests listener;
+		private final StartupStatus ss;
+		private final String shindigBaseUrl;
+
+		public ShindigTestThread(OpenSocialSmokeTests listener,
+				StartupStatus ss, String shindigBaseUrl) {
+			super("OpenSocialSmokeTest.ShindigTestThread");
+			this.listener = listener;
+			this.ss = ss;
+			this.shindigBaseUrl = shindigBaseUrl;
+		}
+
+		@Override
+		public void run() {
+			try {
+				new ShindigTester(shindigBaseUrl).connect();
+				ss.info(listener, "Shindig service responds to a REST query.");
+			} catch (ShindigTesterException e) {
+				String message = e.getMessage();
+				Throwable cause = e.getCause();
+				if (cause == null) {
+					ss.warning(listener, message);
+				} else {
+					ss.warning(listener, message, cause);
+				}
+				return;
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	private static class ShindigTester {
+		// Use the parent's log
+		private static final Log log = LogFactory
+				.getLog(OpenSocialSmokeTests.class);
+
+		/** Pretend that there is an HTTP status code for this. */
+		private static final int SOCKET_TIMEOUT_STATUS = -500;
+
+		private final String shindigBaseUrl;
+		private final HttpClient httpClient = new HttpClient();
+
+		private int statusCode = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
+
+		public ShindigTester(String shindigBaseUrl) {
+			this.shindigBaseUrl = shindigBaseUrl;
+		}
+
+		public void connect() throws ShindigTesterException {
+			testConnection();
+
+			if (!isDone()) {
+				sleep();
+				testConnection();
+			}
+
+			if (!isDone()) {
+				sleep();
+				testConnection();
+			}
+
+			if (statusCode != HttpStatus.SC_OK) {
+				throw new ShindigTesterException(statusCode);
+			}
+		}
+
+		private void testConnection() throws ShindigTesterException {
+			String shindigTestUrl = shindigBaseUrl + "/rest/activities";
+			GetMethod method = new GetMethod(shindigTestUrl);
+			try {
+				log.debug("Trying to connect to Shindig");
+				statusCode = httpClient.executeMethod(method);
+				log.debug("HTTP status was " + statusCode);
+
+				// clear the buffer.
+				InputStream stream = method.getResponseBodyAsStream();
+				stream.close();
+			} catch (SocketTimeoutException e) {
+				// Catch the exception so we can retry this.
+				// Save the status so we know why we failed.
+				statusCode = SOCKET_TIMEOUT_STATUS;
+			} catch (Exception e) {
+				throw new ShindigTesterException(e);
+			} finally {
+				method.releaseConnection();
+			}
+		}
+
+		/**
+		 * Stop trying to connect if we succeed, or if we receive an error that
+		 * won't change on retry.
+		 */
+		private boolean isDone() {
+			return (statusCode == HttpStatus.SC_OK)
+					|| (statusCode == HttpStatus.SC_FORBIDDEN);
+		}
+
+		private void sleep() {
+			try {
+				Thread.sleep(SLEEP_INTERVAL);
+			} catch (InterruptedException e) {
+				e.printStackTrace(); // Should never happen
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	protected static class ShindigTesterException extends Exception {
+		private final int httpStatusCode;
+
+		protected ShindigTesterException(Integer httpStatusCode) {
+			super("Failed to connect to the Shindig service. "
+					+ "status code was " + httpStatusCode);
+			this.httpStatusCode = httpStatusCode;
+		}
+
+		protected ShindigTesterException(Throwable cause) {
+			super("Failed to connect to the Shindig service.", cause);
+			this.httpStatusCode = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
+		}
+
+		protected int getHttpStatusCode() {
+			return httpStatusCode;
+		}
+	}
+
+	private static class TokenServiceTestThread extends VitroBackgroundThread {
+		private final OpenSocialSmokeTests listener;
+		private final StartupStatus ss;
+		private final String tokenServiceHost;
+		private final int tokenServicePort;
+
+		public TokenServiceTestThread(OpenSocialSmokeTests listener,
+				StartupStatus ss, String tokenServiceHost, int tokenServicePort) {
+			super("OpenSocialSmokeTest.TokenServiceTestThread");
+			this.listener = listener;
+			this.ss = ss;
+			this.tokenServiceHost = tokenServiceHost;
+			this.tokenServicePort = tokenServicePort;
+		}
+
+		@Override
+		public void run() {
+			try {
+				new TokenServiceTester(tokenServiceHost, tokenServicePort)
+						.connect();
+				ss.info(listener,
+						"Shindig security token service responds to a request.");
+			} catch (TokenServiceTesterException e) {
+				String message = e.getMessage();
+				Throwable cause = e.getCause();
+				if (cause == null) {
+					ss.warning(listener, message);
+				} else {
+					ss.warning(listener, message, cause);
+				}
+				return;
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	protected static class TokenServiceTester {
+		// Use the parent's log
+		private static final Log log = LogFactory
+				.getLog(OpenSocialSmokeTests.class);
+
+		private final String host;
+		private final int port;
+
+		private Object problem;
+
+		public TokenServiceTester(String host, int port) {
+			this.host = host;
+			this.port = port;
+		}
+
+		public void connect() throws TokenServiceTesterException {
+			testConnection();
+
+			if (!isDone()) {
+				sleep();
+				testConnection();
+			}
+
+			if (!isDone()) {
+				sleep();
+				testConnection();
+			}
+
+			if (problem instanceof Throwable) {
+				throw new TokenServiceTesterException(
+						"Test of the Shindig token service failed.",
+						(Throwable) problem);
+			} else if (problem instanceof String) {
+				throw new TokenServiceTesterException((String) problem);
+			}
+		}
+
+		private void testConnection() {
+			try {
+				log.debug("Connecting to the token service");
+				Socket s = new Socket(host, port);
+
+				s.getOutputStream().write("c=default\n".getBytes());
+
+				int byteCount = 0;
+				int totalBytecount = 0;
+				byte[] buffer = new byte[8192];
+
+				// The following will block until the page is transmitted.
+				InputStream inputStream = s.getInputStream();
+				while ((byteCount = inputStream.read(buffer)) > 0) {
+					totalBytecount += byteCount;
+				}
+
+				if (totalBytecount == 0) {
+					log.debug("Received an empty response.");
+					problem = "The Shindig security token service responded to a test, but the response was empty.";
+				} else {
+					log.debug("Recieved the token.");
+					problem = null;
+				}
+			} catch (Exception e) {
+				log.debug("Problem with the token service", e);
+				problem = e;
+			}
+		}
+
+		/**
+		 * Stop trying to connect if we succeed, or if we receive an error that
+		 * won't change on retry.
+		 */
+		private boolean isDone() {
+			return ((problem == null) || (problem instanceof String));
+		}
+
+		private void sleep() {
+			try {
+				Thread.sleep(SLEEP_INTERVAL);
+			} catch (InterruptedException e) {
+				e.printStackTrace(); // Should never happen
+			}
+		}
+
+	}
+
+	protected static class TokenServiceTesterException extends Exception {
+		protected TokenServiceTesterException(String message) {
+			super(message);
+		}
+
+		protected TokenServiceTesterException(String message, Throwable cause) {
+			super(message, cause);
+		}
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/webapp/web/WEB-INF/resources/startup_listeners.txt b/webapp/web/WEB-INF/resources/startup_listeners.txt
index 03d60bdf9..da63256dc 100644
--- a/webapp/web/WEB-INF/resources/startup_listeners.txt
+++ b/webapp/web/WEB-INF/resources/startup_listeners.txt
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.auth.policy.RestrictHomeMenuItemEditingPolicy$S
 
 edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.services.shortview.ShortViewServiceSetup
 
+edu.ucsf.vitro.opensocial.OpenSocialSmokeTests
+
 # The Solr index uses a "public" permission, so the PropertyRestrictionPolicyHelper 
 #   and the PermissionRegistry must already be set up.
 edu.cornell.mannlib.vitro.webapp.search.solr.SolrSetup