What is Web 2.0?
The term ‘Web 2.0′ was coined in 2004 by O’Reilly media to describe second-generation internet services that let people collaborate and share information in new ways, e.g. social networking sites such as MySpace, wikis (collective, open, anyone-can-edit knowledgebases), communication tools (this blog!), and folksonomies.
To be honest, web 2.0 is just a buzzword which has been over-hyped and ill-defined. However, it does point to something seismic. The internet is driving an unprecedented rate of cultural change. Take MySpace for instance. It currently has 75 million users, 240,000 new users per day, and 30 billion page views a month. So within 3 years MySpace can now claim to cover 1.2% of the world’s population. It’s kind of a UK size of country.
The reason I’m writing this blog is because Web 2.0 points to the fact that business is changing. We all know that business is about relationships (read the ultimate book on leveraging your personal network: Never Eat Alone). But up until now conventional marketing, even web marketing seems to have ignored the need to engage in a two-way relationship. In fairness, that has always been a limit of old media; it’s not much fun talking to a wall poster.
Until now websites have borrowed heavily from old-school marketers. They are like lost sheep bleating in a field, hoping someone is listening. The big hitters of this dot-com generation are not one-to-many old economy sites, they are many-to-many community sites (eBay is in effect a community site at heart).Where does this leave conventional businesses that are not engaged in meaningful dialogue with their customers and prospects? Dead or dying.
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2 Responses to “What is Web 2.0?”
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Hi Phil, good to see you again, even if only virtually!
I get a lot of questions about Web 2.0 on my travels - and I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. Techies like to describe Web 2.0 in terms of technical concepts (AJAX being one good example - just look at my article on AJAX security before you leap!), or the finer points of Blogging and why blogs appear faster in search engines than any other document (Google ‘xml rpc ping’ if you don’t know the answer!)
Of course, whilst technology has a role to play it’s the sea change in how PEOPLE interact that makes Web 2.0 so exciting.
As a 30-something, I’m still technically a “digital migrant” - something reinforced to me when I struggle to explain life before mobile (cell) phones or eBay to our four year old.
And it’s for all of our children, the true “digital natives”, that things get really exciting. Believe me when I say that, despite the hype, the Web 2.0 journey hasn’t even begun yet…
Regards,
Stewart Twynham
Bawden Quinn Associates
Hi Stewart,
Thanks for the posting. Particularly interested in your comments about “digital migrant”. I know the feeling! And as the pace of change accelerates, I have to admit there are parts of the sea-change that will leave aged 30-somethings like ourselves(!) behind.
To other readers: Stewart is an extremely capable IT consultant in the UK with particular expertise in accountancy and recruitment. He has a particular ability to cut through inefficiencies and IT B.S. I unreserverdly recommend his services.