What is Web 2.0?

I’m currently reading a book called Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide by Amy Shuen.

In the preface, there’s a discussion of “What is Web 2.0?” Google this question and about 365 million web pages are returned.

The top-ranked YouTube videos you’ll see included among the Top 10 search results are:





According to Amy, “These YouTube videos provide two ends of the spectrum of Web 2.0 definitions. The technical folks tell us that techniques, architectures, and technologies have combined to trigger a phase transition—from a Web 1.0 collection of static web sites to a Web 2.0 platform for a new generation of dynamic social web applications and services. The social sciences folks show us that ‘we are the Web’ and that right now—whether you call it Web 2.0 or not—people are shaping the Web and the world’s digitized collective knowledge in unexpected directions through their uploads, content, and billions of clicks a day.”

OK. That’s quite a mouthful (and we’re not even into Chapter 1 yet), but her point is that no matter what you call it, it’s here (the era of Web 2.0 and social media).

. ..and here's her book, which I'll be discussing further in future posts.

Blogs v. Forums

Synopsys hosts both blogs and forums in the Community section of synopsys.com.

But what's the difference between the two?

Blogs and forums have become equally ubiquitous fixtures in cyberspace, and they have a lot in common in that each allows users to "join the conversation" by posting comments. Because this feature facilitates multi-directional interaction, blogs and forums both contribute to the development of online communities.

But there are multiple distinctions that set the two apart and make each unique, such as:



There are other differences as well (examples include the ability to subscribe via RSS, send private messages or see who else is online), but some of these lines are blurring through time.

In my view, the most important row in the grid above is the one labeled "Objective."

In other words, whether you're writing, contributing or viewing a blog or a forum, what's the purpose? For most blogs, the objective is (hopefully) clear by browsing a combination of the blog title, the "About" description (if there is one) and a few recent posts.

For most forums, regardless of topic or industry, the primary purpose is to advance one or more of the following goals:

Ask questions/initiate discussion threads

Provide suggestions and help to others who share a common interest or pursuit

Grow and contribute to a reliable body of knowledge

Enable people to find answers to questions others have encountered and solved

Compare experiences and results with others in the community

For additional information about these two forms of online engagement, here are some links:
Wikipedia: Internet Forum
What are the Differences between Message Boards and Weblogs?
Blog v. Forum: What's the Difference?

…and I was just wondering, can two things really be "equally ubiquitous?" Or is that more of an "on/off" condition in this digital world of ours?

The Sweet Spot

As I was walking through the exhibition area of the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco last Friday, "The Story of the Three Bears" crossed my mind. (Yes, yes, funny how the mind works!)

Specifically, I thought of the part about porridge that's "Too hot or too cold versus just right."That concept actually has a lot to do with customer experience -- at a trade show or anywhere a company interfaces with people.

Midstep somewhere in Aisle 500, an overly enthusiastic sales guy caught my eye, flashed a wide smile and proceeded to tell me about how his company is changing the way businesses worldwide buy IT. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I don't have a role in buying what he was selling, but if experiences are porridge, this bowl was way too hot by any measure.

A short while later, I stopped at a booth that looked genuinely interesting. Not change-your-world interesting, but on-topic for social media and therefore worth further investigation. Ah, but here the lone booth representative was so engaged with his BlackBerry that, after a few minutes of waiting, I simply picked up a brochure and moved on... porridge too cold.

The exhibit booths that were on-target for my interests and well-staffed with engaging and knowledgable people were, of course, just right.

I attended the Web 2.0 Expo, not as a buyer of products and services, but as someone interested in learning as much as possible about the vendors in the social media space. In other words, nobody made their year or went out of business on Friday because of how I experienced the temperature of their porridge.

But the experience was a good case study, nonetheless, of how opinions are formed and word-of-mouth begins. Interactions matter, whether your customers are external and far away or internal and in the cube next door.

Ask yourself... If customer experience is porridge, what temperature will you be serving today?