Web 2.0

Nearly every internet marketer out there tosses around the idea of Web 2.0.  It has become the internet buzzword of the 21st century. 

If you were forced to explain it, though, could you?  Do you understand what Web 2.0 is and what it means for your business?

What is Web 2.0?

Oreilly defines web 2.0 sites as web sites with the following characteristics:

1. Services, not packaged software, with cost-effective scalability;
2. Control over unique, hard-to-recreate data sources that get richer as more people use them;
3. Trusting users as co-developers;
4. Harnessing collective intelligence;
5. Leveraging the long tail through customer self-service;
6. Software above the level of a single device;
7. Lightweight user interfaces, development models, AND business models;

Source

Web 2.0 is not a software program, a video game, or even a marketing concept.  It is a more ethereal idea that delineates a simpler and trendier manner of conveying collaborative information and is distinctly different from “older, more formal” web sites and approaches. 

Web 2.0 is not a "new version of the web" but a new way of using the internet to build your business.

At its core, Web 2.0 is a platform – an approach – to how you do business, attract and retain customers, build brand and image awareness, and outpace your competition. 

It represents a paradigm shift from using the internet to enhance your business to being an internet enabled business.

Web 2.0 and its value to your business

As much as anything else, Web 2.0 is a state of mind.  Instead of focusing on software and content, your focus should be flexibility, continuous improvement, and attraction marketing. 

You can't just register a domain and build a static web site, and expect customers to come to you; you have to be an active participant in a dynamic environment that draws customers back to you again and again.

It’s about easy to read and attractive fonts on your web site, easy to use and intuitive user design and graphics.

It’s about interactivity through forms and user registration and primarily it’s about creating an avenue for communication and interactivity on your web site.

Having said all this, Web 2.0 concepts are not for every business.

If you want to succeed in today's competitive online business world, you need to understand what Web 2.0 means, why it is important and whether it is relevant to your business.

If you have questions about Web 2.0 and how it relates to your business, give us a call or use our contact form and send us your question. We would love to speak with you.