Learn-AJAX
It could be argued that Web 2.0 is one of the most hyped words on the Internet these days. It has been subject to attack from a variety of different sources, and some have said that it has little substance. While many writers spend a great deal of time talking about ideological Web 2.0 concepts, I want to break away from this trend and focus on writing about it from an aspect that is most important to enterprises, and this is how it can be used to make money. Before I can do this, it would first be helpful to define Web 2.0.
Web 2.0 can be defined in two ways, and this is from a technical standpoint and an ideological one. A technical definition of Web 2.0 would be a system that is connected to the proliferation of web based platforms, and these include CSS, AJAX, and RSS. Web 2.0 is a collection of technologies that allow data to be distributed. The ideological definition of Web 2.0 would be a system that values user generated content, allowing this information to be spread throughout the web. Now that I've defined Web 2.0 from a technical and ideological standpoint, I will now demonstrate its value to enterprises.
When many companies learn about Web 2.0 for the first time, they are concerned that it will weaken their ability to make money. This is a misconception, and the companies that feel this way are looking at the web in the way it existed during the 1990s. When you consider the fact that the most valuable online companies are those that utilize Web 2.0 principles, it should be easy to see why it can be highly profitable for companies that choose to use it. One good example of this is Wikipedia.
From the standpoint of the average Internet user, Wikipedia is a completely free site. There are no membership fees to pay, and you don't have to pay to download anything. To the casual observer, it would appear that Wikipeda can't make any money for those who run it. However, to believe this would be a grave mistake. First, Wikipedia has one of the highest traffic rankings of any website on the Internet. It is clearly worth millions of dollars, and recently, Wikipedia asked for donations from its users. I watched as the donation amount climbed from $300,000 to over $1 million. This does not take into consideration the advertising value of the site.
As you can see, a free site like Wikipedia is actually worth millions, and it can raise millions in donations. To thrive with Web 2.0, enterprises must be willing to give up control over the ability to spoon feed all their content to users. They must accept the fact that users want to view content presented by other users. This does not mean that everything on the site has to be generated by the user. It just means that a sizeable amount of the content should be. If an enterprise is able to create a community in which the users can submit and view the content of other users, they will be rewarded handsomely.
It is also important for these sites to be free to access. Despite the fact that you don't have to pay to join MySpace, Rupert Murdoch paid over $500 million to acquire it. Despite the fact that YouTube does not charge its users to join or upload videos, Google paid over $1 billion to acquire. On the Internet, the word "free" means everything. People love getting free memberships to popular sites. Even if the website doesn't make a lot of money on the front end, they can make money through donations and the sheer size of the site.
More and more Internet users wish to create their own individual identities on the web. It is for this reason that forums and online games are so popular. Over the Internet, some degree of individuality is important. If enterprises wish to succeed, they must understand online trends, and they must cater to the needs of the individual user.
