WARNING! Web 2.0 or Die!
12.07.06 - 11:26pm
Web 2.0 has Corporate America spinning. For all its appeal to the young and the wired, Web 2.0 may end up making its greatest impact in business. And that could usher in more changes in corporations, already in the throes of such tech-driven transformations as globalization and outsourcing. Indeed, what some are calling Corporate Web 2.0 could flatten a raft of organizational boundaries.
Here are some key areas that Web 2.0 will change how corporations will do business in 2007
ONE HUGE COMPUTER
Also just like the PC, Web 2.0’s essential appeal is empowerment. Increasing computer power, nearly ubiquitous high-speed Internet connections, and ever-easier Web 2.0 services give users unprecedented power to do it themselves. It doesn’t hurt that many of these services are free, supported by ads, or at their most expensive still cost less than cable.
PROBLEM SOLVING
Not surprisingly, a lot of executives remain skeptical. For some, it’s hard to imagine the same technology that spawns a racy MySpace page also yielding a new corporate collaboration service. Nonetheless, the notions behind Web 2.0 clearly hold great potential for businesses — and peril for those that ignore them. Potentially, these Web 2.0 services could help solve some vexing problems for corporations that current software and online services have yet to tackle.
FLEXIBLITY
Just imagine using wiki instead of e-mail to create meeting agendas and post training videos for new hires.
BUSINESS NETWORKS
Companies are starting to take a page from MySpace, Facebook, and other social-networking services. The reason: As appealing as that social aspect is for teens and anyone else who wants to stay in closer touch with friends, it’s even more useful in business. After all, businesses in one sense are social networks formed to make or sell something.
STAYING YOUNG
Where to start? Watch what kids are doing. If they use e-mail at all, it’s a distant fourth to instant messaging, personal blogs, and the social networking sites, because they’re much easier to use for what matters to them: staying in touch with friends. Companies need to provide more compelling ways for this highly connected bunch as they move into the workforce, bringing their valuable contacts in tow. “Young people are not going to go to companies where they can’t use these new tools,” says Lane. “They’ll say, ‘Why would I want to work here?’”
FREE P.R.
Then there’s blogging. It’s worthwhile to spend considerable time reading some popular blogs. Thick skin is a requirement, since the “blogosphere” can be brutal on anything that sounds like spin. But the payoff can be substantial, if hard to quantify. Genial Microsoft (MSFT) blogger Robert Scoble, for instance, is credited by many Redmond watchers with doing more to improve the company’s image than millions of dollars in public relations. In no small part that’s because he has shown a willingness to criticize his company at times.
To read more visit - Business Week
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