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The Entertainment of Web 2.0 Sites

Monday, September 22nd, 2008 | Nikki Leonardi

No doubt, the basis of Web 2.0 has become an essential part of day-to-day business—offering new ways to communicate and collaborate. Whether it’s through social networking sites or online collaboration tools, these applications are essential for driving innovation and efficiency across businesses. Yet, with all seriousness aside, there is a playful side of Web 2.0 that often presents us with pure entertainment.

Take for instance: Flickr, Plaxo, Wiggio, Yammer—ever wonder how names like these originated or what the solution is that they offer? Welcome to the plethora of Web 2.0 sites with strange names that are unrelated to their service—a collection of Web sites dedicated to services and applications that enhance creativity, information sharing and collaboration. Based on some of the names, you would never intuitively know what their purpose is or what innovative solution they are presenting.

They Do What?
Browsing Web 2.0 sites can often feel like you are on a road trip, deciphering letters on license plates into words and phrases like “ANYWR” (anywhere). Sometimes the names make it clear what vegetable of the day the creator ordered for lunch (CALLIFLOWER) or that they needed a jolt of caffeine before work that morning (Cappuccino). But it’s not always clear what the solution is that they offer. As if anyone would immediately know that Wiggio would allow a group to collaborate online or that Plaxo was a professional networking site.

Clearly, a quirky name is a popular way to get attention among these companies that are trying to revolutionize and differentiate the service they are offering. And for those companies that just have no creativity left there is even a Web 2.0 Name Generator just in case a company or application needs help coming up with a completely unrelated name.

A recent blog posted on CIO Insider went even further citing the following three rules of thumb to qualify it as a ridiculous Web 2.0 site:

1. The site’s mission statement must be impenetrable
2. The site must solve a problem that has been solved a million times already or didn’t need solving in the first place
3. Its name must love the letter “r” but eschew vowels ( Drivl, Grazr, Hngry), or be a refugee from “Jabberwocky” (CurdBee, Egghub, Humyo, Jiffle)

The Entertainment Factor
Clearly some of this just feels like haphazard entertainment, but as marketers, we can appreciate the creativity being harnessed through these sites. The names are often deliberately created to be different, catchy and short, in an attempt to promote their brand and make it easy to remember. Think about it, before Web 2.0 emerged, names like Wikipedia and Google were barely known. Now, “Wikipedia” has become part of our everyday language, and “Google” is a verb. While their name helps, Web 2.0 sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Wikipedia and Google are successful because they embrace the Web 2.0 credence. They bring together collective knowledge, support interaction and communication, and are constantly evolving based on user feedback. It is more than a “cool” name and an average service that continues to help them come out on top.

Not every name is going to be effective. As the concepts of Web 2.0 continue to produce improved solutions to organizations and individuals, it will be up to those Web 2.0 businesses to not only have an innovative name, but a strong business model too. A marketing strategy, a solid message and a differentiator within the service they are offering will go a long way in the world where 1000 different companies tout their expertise of online project management.

At the same time, the world loves to laugh. Who knows, perhaps some of this silliness will harness your innovation and creativity.

For More Laughs
Check out the Web 2.0 directory, www.Feedmyapp.com, to view some of the newest companies and applications. This site allows people to log new Web 2.0 applications and sites. Over the past year, they averaged 157 new Web 2.0 application listings per month ranging from solutions for pets to solutions for collaboration.

Nikki Leonardi
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

Posted in Social Networking | Comments Off

What is Web 2.0 Anyway?

Thursday, August 14th, 2008 | Nikki Leonardi

Web 2.0 – is that a new style guide for Web sites? A new technical specification? A new release version for Microsoft? Doesn’t that have something to do with Facebook? How is that going to affect my current Web site?

In a marketing agency, these types of questions come up frequently as organizations look to us to update or launch a new Web site project or online strategy. While Web 2.0 is not a new term, it has definitely picked up momentum and is weaving itself into the mainstay of the entire business world. The variety of Web sites, conferences and businesses lending their credence to Web 2.0 has increased immensely over the past few years, creating a buzz among organizations to learn more about this technology and how it works. Yet even with all this information, there remains confusion around what Web 2.0 really is.

Surprising? Not really. This seemingly simple term can be quite complex, especially for those outside of the IT world. And while some organizations have a much better understanding of what Web 2.0 entails, all too often the true value gets overlooked – the impact it can have on a business’s strategy and operations.

So What Is It?
While the name might indicate a ‘new Web release’, in reality it’s not new technical specifications at all, just a way in how current technology is used. According to Wikipedia this term is used to describe the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and how developers and end-users utilize the Web. Most of us are not foreign to this concept at all and utilize this technology in some fashion every day. Social networking sites (Facebook, My Space), wikis, RSS (real simple syndication), even this blog—all are tools that support the inherent concepts of Web 2.0—enhanced creativity, information sharing and collaboration.

But How Is It Really Affecting Business?

The Good:
Obviously this technology is growing into more than just consumer tools and Internet pastimes. Businesses have recognized the benefits and relevance of Web 2.0 technologies and are readily investing in this concept. In fact, studies done by Forrester Research found that one in three businesses across North America and Europe is planning to invest in Web 2.0 tools and technologies in 2008. They also stated that enterprise spending on Web 2.0 technologies will grow strongly over the next five years, reaching $4.6 billion globally by 2013.

In fact, many organizations have already incorporated some level of Web 2.0 into their strategy, without even knowing this was part of the buzz. Companies have learned that this technology is an inexpensive and easy way to interact with their users. By fostering business communities, corporate blogs and Facebook pages, etc., companies can reach their customer base more quickly and enhance their products and services more regularly based on end-user feedback. Even internally within an organization, Web 2.0 applications can increase information sharing through wikis and internal blogs as well as incremental releases—all greatly reducing time-to-resolution of key issues and problems in an organization. In a TopCoder survey conducted for ComputerWorld, seven in 10 coders stated that traditional corporate development teams could benefit from Web 2.0 techniques, specifically the incremental feature releases, quick user feedback loops and quality assurance programs that include users.

The Bad and The Ugly:
It’s apparent though that not all businesses are ready to open their doors and embrace Web 2.0. While this technology acts as a catalyst for collaboration, it has also opened up a real vulnerability—greater access for hackers, more susceptibility to viruses, risk of employees inadvertently (or purposefully) sharing proprietary information, negative information posted over user groups—that organizations have not had to focus on so intensely in the past.

There also remain a lot of questions and concerns regarding legalities and liability around public disclosure as well as ownership of intellectual property when utilizing these technologies. While companies can (and should) incorporate more procedures and controls to protect themselves, there has been very little regulation as to what that looks like. Just recently the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a statement addressing the need for greater guidance regarding many of these applications for businesses.

So What’s Next for Businesses?
Web 2.0 is essentially a paradigm shift in the way we not only socialize and communicate, but also in the way business is conducted. Clearly not all aspects of Web 2.0 are a match for every company and not every company is immediately ready to incorporate any of these processes or applications, but it is certainly gaining popularity across the masses and finding new ways to integrate into every day business. Organizations do not really have a choice in IF they will utilize this concept, but rather HOW they will utilize it. So, what about your business; how is Web 2.0 affecting your strategy?

Nikki Leonardi
Marketing Director
ClearEdge Marketing

Posted in Social Networking | 1 Comment »

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