Understanding Web 2.0

January 31, 2008 · Filed Under General, Infotech, Blogging, Online, Marketing

Ever since the term “Web 2.0” was coined in 2005, it has become a buzz word and is used by both techies, marketers and everyone who wants to get a piece of the pie which is the world wide web.

Google has over 74 million instances of it. But what exactly is Web 2.0? My goal is to simplify the vast collective information about it so far. Join me as I attempt to explain it in layman’s terms and maybe you or your company can benefit from it.

Let’s start with the definition of Web 2.0. Wikipedia lists it as “the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.” This was according to Tim O’Reilly’s famous September 2005 post.

More details after the jump.

1.0 vs. 2.0

Again, according to O’Reilly, here’s an illustration of the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0

See the obvious difference?

Also, in the first Web 2.0 conference, experts listed a guide on what 2.0 really is. Here it is summarized below:

Strategic Positioning

The Web as Platform

User Positioning

You control your own data

Core Competencies

Services, not packaged software
Architecture of Participation
Cost-effective scalability
Remixable data source and data transformations
Software above the level of a single device
Harnessing collective intelligence

Now, let’s sift through this technical mumbo-jumbo as I try to put key words, examples and thoughts into each.

The Web as Platform – This simply means that the entire web is the “tool” or the system where software or systems are built. Think of web-based applications like what Google and Yahoo offer; Google Docs, Yahoo Messenger, etc. You get the work done without additional costs or tools. Your browser is your tool.
Value Creation – blogs, social networks and even video sites allow users to be active in the creation of content. This content brings value which companies are beginning to now understand and work with. In a book written by Tapscott and Williams - Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything “Companies can design and assemble products with their customers, and in some cases customers can do the majority of the value creation”. In each instance the traditionally passive buyers of editorial and advertising take active, participatory roles in value creation.” Tapscott and Williams suggest business strategies as “models where masses of consumers, employees, suppliers, business partners, and even competitors cocreate value in the absence of direct managerial control”
Folksonomy – the arrival of great ideas like R.S.S. (Really Simple Syndication), Blog services and tagging, to name a few; this means that content on the web has changed from being ‘corporate sounding’ (hardsell) to being a personal level. You can also sift from the data and get content you choose delivered to you in real-time without need to be manually searching for it through the millions of information on the web. Also, comparative shopping sites and user-reviews have been helped companies market their products even more. This brings the “word of mouth” principle to its zenith.
Harnessing Collective Intelligence – Wikipedia is the perfect example for this. Instead of trying to write an entire encyclopedia, why not harness the power of experts in different fields? The rest is history. Even Google made this their battle cry as they shifted from a directory-driven search engine to more relevant, “key word” style searches. In fact, the collective value of sites such as Ebay and Youtube cannot be ignored too. This is the true power of the masses.
If Content is King, Data is his Queen – Another key to Web 2.0 dominance is the harnessing, managing and controling data. Take for example, Google Earth – they control the data and information which are maps. Are they managing it correctly? You bet they are. Youtube is living by its value proposition – “Broadcast yourself”. Enough said, right? Same thing goes for other services such as iTunes or Amazon.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

The big question now; How do you make sense of all this and apply this to your business or organization?

Here are some practical tips based on my own personal research and experience.

There is value in user-generated content – don’t try to own it. Let your users contribute. Take in articles, link to their blogs and have members of the community help create the content. It’s theirs as much as yours. Their success and recognition will be your own success too.
Don’t compete or copy, synergize – Just because youtube or friendster is successful it doesn’t mean that you will suceed too with an exact clone. The key here is to work with the best and the biggest services in your niche or market and not try to duplicate what they did. Create your own presence in these communities and you will reap the rewards. Don’t go against the current.
Make it accessible – Got content? Most of it made by your users? Then make it available and announce it to the entire world. Making an RSS feed is easy. If your site is not RSS-ready nor searchable, chances are you are losing some friendly soul who is looking for your content. Besides, having new content as often as possible increases your Google-power to an extent.
Be Real – Don’t try to fool your customers. If you focus on giving good service or a quality product, your customers’ passion for it will spread like wildfire. Gone are the days of putting too much money on PR. These days, if the people want it, they will find it and they will tell their friends. How do you think youtube succeeded?

In summary, Web 2.0 is here and is here to stay. The key is to align your business, your goals and objectives towards it and not against it. I hope you learned something from this humble piece.

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GM Tristan

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Comments

2 Responses to “Understanding Web 2.0”

valfogg on February 1st, 2008 7:29 am

afaik web 2.0 is the switch from ipv4 to ipv6…
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