November 2008: Guest Column
Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Web 3.0…Now What?
by Eva Chiu, InfoAdvantage
I just came back from a Web 2.0 conference in New York. Not all the diverse ideas and projects being presented will survive to become mainstream and successful, but there were some good ideas that are already being embraced by companies and Web site users and show real promise.
When Jeff asked me to talk about what Web 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 really mean, it reminded me that the Web is not that old. Was it really only 1994 when I was at the Bellevue Library demonstrating to a packed audience how to use a 28.8 dial-up modem to connect via Gopher to the University of Minnesota library? (Who remembers Gopher?) The excitement then about the beginning of Web 1.0 equals some of the hype we witness today about Web 2.0.
Back in that not-so-long-ago time, Yahoo! was moving out of its founders’ student server space at Stanford. “Where do you want to go today?” Microsoft asked on its brand-new home page. You were a hot newsmaker in The
Seattle Times if you had a Web site – just about any Web site.
The Web was the New World and brick and mortar business was out of fashion.
The fleet of blue and green Webvan grocery trucks on the streets on San Francisco heralded the coming of a new age – the future that the dot.com world had anticipated couldn’t arrive soon enough.
The dot.com bubble burst. But main street businesses and users like you and me pushed the adoption curve forward. Today, Web 1.0 has transformed how we do business, how we research and transact our personal purchases, how we nurture relationships with customers. The smart adopters not only survived the crash, but thrived in its aftermath. Innovations in cyberspace spilled over into other arenas. Our work processes changed, from better user interfaces in software programs to faster and more efficient work processes, all powered by technologies developed for the Web.
Our experience using the Web has changed our perspectives on data, too. Google has become a defining symbol of the new information age; the only question is whether it should be more properly defined as verb or a noun. For techies, Google is revolutionary in the way it uses distributed databases and the Web as a platform to deliver user-generated content. For the rest of us, it makes good on the Web’s promise – to be a library without walls.
That’s the beginning of the so-called Web 2.0. In short form: Web 1.0 broadcasts, Web 2.0 talks back.
More people were given the opportunity to participate in the new conversation, and they took it. mySpace and Facebook weren’t the first personal home page engines – but they were the ones that broke through. New Web applications made it easier for users to collaborate and publish, the rich online media captivated and whetted their appetite for more, networks expanded and overcame the “barrier of the last mile” to reach more homes and business and, finally, people caught up to the advances of technology. Today, with Web 2.0, marketers strategize about reaching customers, referral partners and influencers using social media – the blogosphere, RSS, mySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Second Life… the list of social media goes on and on. Has the time come for your business to embrace the Web’s new incarnation?
Whether Web 2.0 and the social media should be an avenue of serious consideration for your business depends greatly on who your customers are. Social media are more about how people act (or don’t act) than about technology. People are social creatures whose opinions are swayed by others, particularly those they trust or are fond of. People are emotional creatures who jump when something “really hits home” – something that affects their pocketbooks, their passions, or their fears. Social media simply magnify all the interactions each of those social, emotional creatures have each and every day.
Getting your message above the noise level in social media doesn’t just happen – all campaigns, to be successful, have to be managed. Are the chosen media right for your target audiences? What do they care about? Do you have the resources to monitor what’s going on and add to the conversations without seeming to exert control? Many companies devote dedicated teams to the task. Are you ready to take that step?
Even if Web 2.0 is not yet right for your business, you can’t ignore its effects. Your customers’ perspectives and expectations change with what they see and experience elsewhere on the Web. They have ever-higher expectations of their experiences with your company – online and elsewhere. They have become comfortable with, and may prefer, self-service, customizing, accessing their account data, and using technologies online. But the customer service enhancements they demand are good for the bottom line – happier customers are more loyal, they buy more, and they spread good words about you.
What about Web 3.0? What comes next? The still exponential growth of computer power will equip the next generations of Web sites to allow users to run their own applications and contribute data to a much more intelligent Web, possibly even in ways we don’t conceive right now. Innovations in Web applications will accelerate. Networks will be many times more powerful. Along the way, the underlying technologies and network advances will expand the reach and increase the cost-effectiveness of Web 1.0 applications and build compelling user bases for Web 2.0 applications.
So what can you do? Be on the lookout for trends. Anticipate the needs and expectations of your customers – what will make their lives easier and more satisfying? What will help them do their jobs better and faster? What will make them feel informed and empowered, part of a community that cares? The Web 1.0 and 2.0 tools you use can and should be integrated with customer service, sales, marketing, product development, and your other business activities. A wise strategy is to first experiment, achieve some small successes, gain insights that are specific to your customer base and your industry – and build on those. In the end, it’s all about your customers.
Not all the ideas in Web 2.0 or 3.0 will stand the test of time and not all of them should – if it doesn’t relate to the users, it won’t make the grade. The bottom line for innovation is the same as your bottom line: does it add value for the user, for the company, for the community at large? If it does, pursue it. If it doesn’t, lose it – no matter what name someone pins on it.
Eva Chiu is president and chief client officer of InfoAdvantage – where Internet + Marketing take companies from first class to world class. Eva can be reached at 425-869-2157 or echiu@infoadvantage.com.
