The 411 on Web 2.0
Web 2.0 seems to have become the buzz word when it comes to marketing. Every business wants to merge their marketing plan with a Web 2.0 strategy. It seems like as popular as the term “Web 2.0” is more people would really understand what it means but truth be told we get asked daily to explain exactly what Web 2.0 is. If you need to understand this term, read on to find out more.
Way back when Tim O’Reilly coined the term at a conference and since then it has take on and developed into the advancement of social networking sites online. In a nutshell, Web 2.0 is actually a platform that supports and brings more to these social networking sites. Still confused? Don’t be just keep reading.
Before going any further it is necessary to understand what social networking is and if you take the idea of the networking offline and morph it with the online world you have social networking. Individuals forming connections and building relationships online; imagine those wooden blocks with the rounds balls that connect the sticks. The sticks are connected to the balls but without the sticks there would be no connection. Very basic and simple but it gets over complicated with terminology.
Web 2.0 provides the base where these interactions occur and how they occur. People can created individual profiles or a group/business profile to meet people. Feeds, content blogs, social networking sites such as Ning, video sites, message boards and instant messaging sites are all examples of the platform, Web 2.0.
Many social networking sites use the Web 2.0 platform as their basis and these include:
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Wikipedia
• MySpace
• WordPress
• Blogger
• Flickr
There are many more, but you get the idea from the partial list. If you belong to any of these social networking sites, you have sampled a Web 2.0 platform. Each site utilizes user-generated content that is ranked by the search engines. Good content is found and the content producer gains a following that can be used to gain popularity on the web or increased visibility for a business.
Web 2.0 platforms are used by businesses, universities, and families. It is a way to keep in touch with easy to use and manageable applications. One useful application is the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed which automatically updates subscribers when changes occur to your page. This is specific application is frequently used on blogs and news sites to save readers time. They no longer have to check their favorite websites daily for updates. Instead they receive a notice via email or in their feed reader when something new has been posted.
