Some social media vehicles have already been mentioned the previous articles but in this article 15 social media categorized by Safko and Brakd (2009) that form social media ecosystem is briefly explained. All of them are realized by Web 2.0 technologies.
1. Social networking: This is a common place online that any trusted network, a group of like-minded people who have come together to share thoughts, ideas and information about themselves. Examples of social networking site include Facebook, Linked, Bebo and MySpace, to just name a few.
2. Publish: This is a broad category that might be a little misleading because technically people can publish all kinds of content, including video, audio, photos and games as well as texts of e-mail, web pages, blogs, Internet forums and wikis. Examples of tools, companies, tools and applications include Blogger, Constant Contact, Joomla, Knol, Slide Share, TypePad and Wikia.
3. Photo: Picture is worth a thousand words and that is where the value of being able to sort, organize and share photos with people in one’s network comes in. Examples of companies, tools and application include Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, Radar.net, Slide, Smug Mug, Twixr and Zoomr.
4. Audio: Now iPod have become such a ubiquitous and indispensable device that people want to take around with them to listen to audio contents, and more than 30 million people subscribe to podcasts already, and therefore audio can be a critical aspect of a social media strategy. Examples of companies, tools and applications include iTunes, PodBean, Podcast.net and Rapsody.
5. Video: Video recording could also be considered a podcast because the iPod and other digital playback devices display photographs, audio and video but in this article audio recordings as a podcast and video recordings as video or vlog (comes from Video web LOG as the word blog stands for weB LOG). Video recording refers to Web 2.0 services with the ability to deliver video content on demand that can also be shared and promoted across social networks. Examples of companies, tools and applications include Brightcove, Google Video, Hulu, Metacafe, Viddler and YouTube.
6. Microblogging: This is text messaging with character limitation (e.g. 140 characters) but can be considered as a cross between blogging and text messaging. Microblogging includes the ability to send messages, audio, video and even attached files from a computer or mobile phone and offer business in particular a versatile way to interact with employees and customers, and therefore has the potential to be used in variety of settings for variety of objectives. Examples of companies include Plurt, Twitter and Twitxr.
7. Livecasting: This is a category of social media tools that enables people to broadcast information (video and audio) using the Internet/Web 2.0 technologies, distributing (or streaming) that content to his/her network. For businesses, these applications have a variety of uses on the communication, collaboration, entertainment and education settings. Examples of companies, tools and applications include BlogTalkRadio, Llive 365, Justins.tv, SHOUTcast and TalkShoe.
8. Virtual Worlds: These present a new frontier for businesses with the possibility of real-time interaction with employees, customers and vendors. Other businesses are also pursuing ways to sell actual products and services in a virtual world. The 5 key players in this space are Active Worlds, Kaneva, Second Life, There and ViOS.
9. Gaming: Online gaming is one of the Internet phenomena that are continuously gaining popularity, being a magnet that attracts large numbers of people (gamers) with a common interest. Gamers currently represent a special kind of social network but there is an opportunity in category to influence word-of-mouth promotion. Some applications (games) include 4x4 Evolution, Entropia Universe, EverQuest and World of Warcraft.
10. Productivity Applications: These are all of business productivity tools. Examples of companies, tools and applications include Acteva, AOL, Google Alerts, Google Gmail, MSSTAG, TiddyWiki, Yahoo! And Zoho.
11. Aggregators: This is about market and business intelligence which can be an extremely valuable part of social media strategy. Some aggregators gather information and data in one place for easy access and are directed to keep it updated, and some others additionally leverage the wisdom of the crowd and tell what other people are saying about a particular product, service or brand. Examples of applications include Digg, FriendFeed, Google Reader, iGoogle, My Yahoo!, Reddit and Yelp.
12. RSS: This is an acronym for Rich Site Summary, which is a one-click solution that allows all one’s content to be sent to his/her followers the moment the content is published. This is extremely valuable for a user when he/she has a favourite blog or regularly visits a website that provides updated information with specific value to him/her. Examples of companies, tools and applications include Atom, FeedBurner, PingShot and RSS 2.0.
13. Search: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) are techniques by which web pages, photos and even videos are optimized to maximize search engine rankings. The ability to search and easily locate a variety of content on the web represents a tactical advantage to the business. Examples of companies, tools and applications include Google Search, Yahoo! Search, Bing of Microsoft, EveryZing, Ice Rocket and Meta Tube.
14. Mobile: Mobile phones are the epitome of both digital convergence and social media, and probably have contributed much to advance social media than any other single device. And today, iPhone, BlackBerry and other similar device functions as an operational control centre for people’s business because many of the social media tools in the ecosystem function just as well with mobile devices as they do with computer and therefore this category is rapidly growing. Examples of tools and applications include airG, AOL Mobile, Brightkite, CallWave, Jott, Jumbuck and SMS.ac.
15. Interpersonal: This refers to the many applications and websites in the social media ecosphere that allows people to communicate live, real time on a one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many basis. Examples of one-to-one exchange tools include Skype, AOL Instant Messager, GTal, Apple’s iChat and Jott. One-to-many tools include Jott, Twitter, Yahoo! Messenger, Microsoft Live Messenger and Doodle. Many-to-many applications include GoToMeeting, WebEx and Adobe Connect. Many-to-one could be considered page aggregators where the conversations of many different bloggers are complied into a web page or even Google Alerts where alerts about many different mentions of one’s search terms are sent directly to his/her personal e-mail.
How the above social media categories form an organic structure together with Website(s) and e-mail marketing comes next, so that use of Web 2.0 technologies companies will be better understood in the upcoming articles.
References:-
Safko, Lon and Brake, David K (2009), The Social Media Bible – Tactics, Tools & Strategies for Business Success. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Saturday, 24 October 2009
Saturday, 17 October 2009
Vol. 4: What is Web 2.0? What Distinguishes Web 2.0 from Web 1.0?
In this article, Web 2.0 is defined by defining Social Media, a well-used term together, clarifying the relationship between the two terms, and what distinguishes Web 2.0 from Web 1.0.
1. What exactly is Social Media?
According to Safko and Brake (2009), “social media refers to activities, practices, and behaviors among communities of people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational media. Conversational media are Web-based applications that make it possible to create and easily transmit content in the form of words, pictures, videos, and audios.”
Some example of actual usage of social media vehicles being an active member of social media ecosystem is that a person belongs to several online communities such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, use computer, mobile phone and/or any other devices to access and send messages to other members of your group/community to make connections, interact and participate in discussions, read blogs, watch a YouTube video, and listen to podcast.
2. What about Web 2.0?
The author has defined Web 2.0 as “the Internet that enables social media tools and applications that are interactive and multi-dimensional, with primary goal of enabling communities to form and interact with one another.” from multiple sources.
According to Safko and Brake (2009, p6-7), Web 2.0 is somewhat of a misnomer because “it does not refer to a new and improved version of the World Wide Web, the information superhighway that’s become ubiquitous over the last decade or so. There really is no new physical version of the Internet.” Safko and Brake goes on to say that to continue the analogy, there are many more interesting vehicles traveling on the highway and some incredible places to stops along that highway, thanks to Web 2.0 technologies and the inventive people behind them (2009, p7). What they say is that social media and Web 2.0 come together and the two terms are closely related and social media refer to tools and applications, and that the primary goal of the two is enable communities to form and interact with another.
According to Dubral in his blog article Channel Website Obituary. R.I.P., 2.0 websites are interactive and multi-dimensional, evolving into full-blown end-user communities, and visitors engage in conversation via blogs, forums, videos and more, whereas 1.0 websites are static and one-dimensional and visitors are expected to read information and leave. Although there does not seem to be other sources that explicitly give definition of Web, 2.0, the term Web 2.0 is used in the context defined by Safko and Brake and Channels of the Future in other sources.
3. What distinguishes Web 2.0 from Web 1.0?
From the above, it can be summarized that the key distinctions between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 are static vs. interactive and one-dimensional vs. multi-dimensional, and key word of 2.0 websites (Web 2.0 websites) is “community”. Concrete elements that distinguish Web 2.0 from Web 1.0 are best stated by Kuchinskas in her blog article Learning from Web 2.0 (Without the Web). Kuchinskas states that the core principles of Web 2.0 are:-
- Mix and Match: Data or applications can be combined in new ways to create new opportunities.
- Distribute Widely: Instead of waiting for customers to come to the website owner, products or services are released where customers already are.
- Enable, Do not Control: Instead of forcing customers to do things a certain way, it is made easy for them to do it in whatever way works best.
She then also goes on to say that smart companies have applied these philosophies in offline environment to realize the following, which all enabling communities to form and interact with one another:-
- Mashups: Combine two data sources or services to create a new one.
- Syndication: People can receive whatever content they are interested in automatically via RSS, atom feeds etc.
- Personalization: Web 2.0 encourages personalization and customization, allowing customers to tailor products to suit their preferences to make product more useful and increase users’ interest in it.
- Mass Collaboration: Web 2.0 technologies embrace the idea that the more people use a service or application, the stronger and more valuable it becomes, as in the case of the Wikipedia, YouTube, MySpace etc.
It is with the above philosophy and methods that Web 2.0 websites can form communities with rich information and content compared to Web 1.0 websites, leading to more “sticky” websites. A web user (customer) stays in such a Web 2.0 “sticky” website longer than Web 1.0 website and returns more frequently to such a “sticky” Web 2.0 website than a Web 1.0 website. This means that retention and loyalty of web users (customers) is a focus of Web 2.0 websites, and it can be said that as websites evolve from Web 1.0 to 2.0 and maybe 3.0 and so forth in the future, the more customer retention and engagement becomes the critical KFS (key factors for success).
After all, Web 2.0 websites (social media vehicles) are all about engagement with web users of customers, prospects, employees and all other stakeholders by facilitating one or more of communication, collaboration, education and entertainment. In fact, these constitute the 4 pillars of Web 2.0/social media strategy.
In the next article, the social media ecosystems that Web 2.0 technologies realize will be introduced.
References:-
Safko, Lon and Brake, David K (2009), The Social Media Bible – Tactics, Tools & Strategies for Business Success. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Dubrall, Michael (2009) Channel Website Obituary. R.I.P.
http://gilwellgroup.blogspot.com/2009/07/channel-website-obituary-born-1995-died.html
Kuchinskas, Susan (2009) Learning from Web 2.0 (Without the Web)http://www.bnet.com/2403-13241_23-66095.html?tag=content;col1
People who have read this article may want to read:-
Vol.1: Introduction
http://megumioyanagi.blogspot.com/2009/09/future-direction-of-web-20-and-internet.html
Vol.2: How Companies are Benefiting from Web 2.0?
http://megumioyanagi.blogspot.com/2009/10/vol2-how-companies-are-benefiting-from.html
Vol.3: Background of Writing the Blog Articles
http://megumioyanagi.blogspot.com/2009/10/vol3-background-of-writing-blog-article.html
1. What exactly is Social Media?
According to Safko and Brake (2009), “social media refers to activities, practices, and behaviors among communities of people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational media. Conversational media are Web-based applications that make it possible to create and easily transmit content in the form of words, pictures, videos, and audios.”
Some example of actual usage of social media vehicles being an active member of social media ecosystem is that a person belongs to several online communities such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, use computer, mobile phone and/or any other devices to access and send messages to other members of your group/community to make connections, interact and participate in discussions, read blogs, watch a YouTube video, and listen to podcast.
2. What about Web 2.0?
The author has defined Web 2.0 as “the Internet that enables social media tools and applications that are interactive and multi-dimensional, with primary goal of enabling communities to form and interact with one another.” from multiple sources.
According to Safko and Brake (2009, p6-7), Web 2.0 is somewhat of a misnomer because “it does not refer to a new and improved version of the World Wide Web, the information superhighway that’s become ubiquitous over the last decade or so. There really is no new physical version of the Internet.” Safko and Brake goes on to say that to continue the analogy, there are many more interesting vehicles traveling on the highway and some incredible places to stops along that highway, thanks to Web 2.0 technologies and the inventive people behind them (2009, p7). What they say is that social media and Web 2.0 come together and the two terms are closely related and social media refer to tools and applications, and that the primary goal of the two is enable communities to form and interact with another.
According to Dubral in his blog article Channel Website Obituary. R.I.P., 2.0 websites are interactive and multi-dimensional, evolving into full-blown end-user communities, and visitors engage in conversation via blogs, forums, videos and more, whereas 1.0 websites are static and one-dimensional and visitors are expected to read information and leave. Although there does not seem to be other sources that explicitly give definition of Web, 2.0, the term Web 2.0 is used in the context defined by Safko and Brake and Channels of the Future in other sources.
3. What distinguishes Web 2.0 from Web 1.0?
From the above, it can be summarized that the key distinctions between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 are static vs. interactive and one-dimensional vs. multi-dimensional, and key word of 2.0 websites (Web 2.0 websites) is “community”. Concrete elements that distinguish Web 2.0 from Web 1.0 are best stated by Kuchinskas in her blog article Learning from Web 2.0 (Without the Web). Kuchinskas states that the core principles of Web 2.0 are:-
- Mix and Match: Data or applications can be combined in new ways to create new opportunities.
- Distribute Widely: Instead of waiting for customers to come to the website owner, products or services are released where customers already are.
- Enable, Do not Control: Instead of forcing customers to do things a certain way, it is made easy for them to do it in whatever way works best.
She then also goes on to say that smart companies have applied these philosophies in offline environment to realize the following, which all enabling communities to form and interact with one another:-
- Mashups: Combine two data sources or services to create a new one.
- Syndication: People can receive whatever content they are interested in automatically via RSS, atom feeds etc.
- Personalization: Web 2.0 encourages personalization and customization, allowing customers to tailor products to suit their preferences to make product more useful and increase users’ interest in it.
- Mass Collaboration: Web 2.0 technologies embrace the idea that the more people use a service or application, the stronger and more valuable it becomes, as in the case of the Wikipedia, YouTube, MySpace etc.
It is with the above philosophy and methods that Web 2.0 websites can form communities with rich information and content compared to Web 1.0 websites, leading to more “sticky” websites. A web user (customer) stays in such a Web 2.0 “sticky” website longer than Web 1.0 website and returns more frequently to such a “sticky” Web 2.0 website than a Web 1.0 website. This means that retention and loyalty of web users (customers) is a focus of Web 2.0 websites, and it can be said that as websites evolve from Web 1.0 to 2.0 and maybe 3.0 and so forth in the future, the more customer retention and engagement becomes the critical KFS (key factors for success).
After all, Web 2.0 websites (social media vehicles) are all about engagement with web users of customers, prospects, employees and all other stakeholders by facilitating one or more of communication, collaboration, education and entertainment. In fact, these constitute the 4 pillars of Web 2.0/social media strategy.
In the next article, the social media ecosystems that Web 2.0 technologies realize will be introduced.
References:-
Safko, Lon and Brake, David K (2009), The Social Media Bible – Tactics, Tools & Strategies for Business Success. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Dubrall, Michael (2009) Channel Website Obituary. R.I.P.
http://gilwellgroup.blogspot.com/2009/07/channel-website-obituary-born-1995-died.html
Kuchinskas, Susan (2009) Learning from Web 2.0 (Without the Web)http://www.bnet.com/2403-13241_23-66095.html?tag=content;col1
People who have read this article may want to read:-
Vol.1: Introduction
http://megumioyanagi.blogspot.com/2009/09/future-direction-of-web-20-and-internet.html
Vol.2: How Companies are Benefiting from Web 2.0?
http://megumioyanagi.blogspot.com/2009/10/vol2-how-companies-are-benefiting-from.html
Vol.3: Background of Writing the Blog Articles
http://megumioyanagi.blogspot.com/2009/10/vol3-background-of-writing-blog-article.html
Vol.3: Background of Writing the Blog Article Series
This is the Vol.3 of "Future Direction of Internet and Web 2.0 Marketing"
Instead of writing about the definition of Web 2.0, clarifying what distinguishes Web 2.0 from Web 1.0 and then about detailed use of Web 2.0 to succeed the previous article, which is "Vol.2 - How Companies are Benefiting from Web 2.0? "
the author decided to first write about why she is doing this, i.e. writing about Web 2.0/Internet in English blog, then go back to write the main issues. This is because when she asked for help to write upcoming articles to her LinkedIn members, among some kind help and offer which she was greatly thankful and impressed, she also had a proposal of “what about writing why you are doing this”. She understood that this kind of information is also what the readers would like to read.
1. Why the author decided to write the series of articles on Web 2.0/Internet marketing
The author has already written about this in the first article, which was the introduction.
Vol. 1 - Introduction
http://megumioyanagi.blogspot.com/2009/09/future-direction-of-web-20-and-internet.html
The trigger of starting writing this series was the fact that the author became a heavy Web 2.0 and social media user this year, and the recent survey results on Web 2.0 usage. She thought it could be a good idea to write about Web 2.0/Internet marketing focusing on use and future trend/direction, which can be applied to (everyday) use in business and private settings. She realized that this could be a kind of follow-up from her MBA thesis as well.
2. Why writing in English
It might be strange for a Japanese author, i.e. native language being Japanese, to write blog articles in English, but it is logical and natural for the author. From her experience of writing a thesis on web, the author is fully aware that most information to be used for this kind of topic would be in English. This means it would be easier to write in English because it would be easier to write in the same language as the source and references as long as the author has sufficient English communication skills. As for the author, she has much experience of writing in English; thesis and reports on assignments for MBA, and at work variety of texts including press releases, internal articles and executive messages/speeches in English and Japanese besides checking web contents and catalogue texts. The fact that most relevant information would be in English implies that the target for the articles would be mostly people who can read and communicate well in English. From all these points, author decided to write in English.
3. Why blog articles
After profound consideration, the author concluded that series of blog articles in not-too-casual style is the best. Considering the objectives and targets, she first thought perhaps some other format is appropriate; however, formal paper would be over the top and also too big a hurdle to start and continue. The author wanted to write more casually. In addition, this kind of topic evolves momentarily and the author preferred something flexible. Thus, the author decided to write blog articles in series, in not-too-casual style.
The author also writes blog articles in Japanese, but the target and objectives is different from English ones and therefore the style is different. Many Japanese blog articles are casual (many are like diary) and her Japanese blog articles are in a casual style as well, in a “talking-to-readers” style, similarly to the e-newsletter with many links to related web contents she has been writing and distributing for more than 5 years.
4. What does writing this blog article series mean to the author
For the author, writing this blog article series is a way of self-expressing her belief and thoughts, and also a way of focusing on her careers. She was originally IT illiterate but changed her role and position to start Internet/web initiatives in March 2001 by job posting system when she was working for her ex-employer, marking a turning point in her career. (Her ex-bosses and colleagues were extremely surprised about this). This was because she “felt” the potential of the Internet and believed that the success of the company and the individual in the new economy of 21st century would be determined by effective use of IT and the Internet technology (together with English communication skill plus strengths/unique skill/competency that can be paraphrased as core competency) in all realms of business and management, regardless of the industry, the organization, the function of the role. It does not necessarily mean that the user of IT and the Internet technology need to know much about the technology itself.
The Internet/web is not only about technology and system engineers, but is a tool/platform for innovation in business and management, and therefore it must be aligned with the overall business and management strategy, meaning it must be effectively mixed with traditional infrastructure, systems and media/channels, based on the clicks & mortar concept. This is why the author has been driving (global) web initiatives AND driving and advocating media mix for online and offline synergy, developing various concepts and frameworks. She believes that this concept should be applied to online business as well because it is very unlikely for any business to be fulfilled in am exclusive online/virtual world
Such of her beliefs has become stronger and stronger although the author’s role had not necessarily been focusing on Internet/web for the past 3 years. And now that Web 2.0/social media has become a hot topic, she strongly believes that it is high time for her to go back to the Internet/web and leverage Web 2.0. The author had a kind of community and relationship concept of social media in mind when she stated in her MBA thesis on web equity that the key for website success would be “stickiness” of the site and retention of web users. The fact that her current employer started to leverage Web 2.0 (e.g. Yammer, a microblogging website) worldwide and she uses it daily is also a wind-wing situation. So she first joined LinkedIn, and started Facebook and Twitter, then Japanese blog followed by English blog. Many of her Japanese blog articles are about how she is leveraging Web 2.0 and social media including simple explanation of Twitter and some tips. But she concluded that leveraging social media vehicles including LinkedIn and Twitter and writing blog articles in English on this topic is good if she is to study and give output professionally to share and utilize in business.
The author hope the above would help readers better understand the background of the series of blog articles.
Should you have any further questions and comments, please let the author know. She would be delighted to know.
The next article is
Vol.4: What is Web 2.0? What Distinguishes Web 2.0 from Web 1.0?
http://megumioyanagi.blogspot.com/2009/10/what-is-web-20-what-distinguishes-web.html
Instead of writing about the definition of Web 2.0, clarifying what distinguishes Web 2.0 from Web 1.0 and then about detailed use of Web 2.0 to succeed the previous article, which is "Vol.2 - How Companies are Benefiting from Web 2.0? "
the author decided to first write about why she is doing this, i.e. writing about Web 2.0/Internet in English blog, then go back to write the main issues. This is because when she asked for help to write upcoming articles to her LinkedIn members, among some kind help and offer which she was greatly thankful and impressed, she also had a proposal of “what about writing why you are doing this”. She understood that this kind of information is also what the readers would like to read.
1. Why the author decided to write the series of articles on Web 2.0/Internet marketing
The author has already written about this in the first article, which was the introduction.
Vol. 1 - Introduction
http://megumioyanagi.blogspot.com/2009/09/future-direction-of-web-20-and-internet.html
The trigger of starting writing this series was the fact that the author became a heavy Web 2.0 and social media user this year, and the recent survey results on Web 2.0 usage. She thought it could be a good idea to write about Web 2.0/Internet marketing focusing on use and future trend/direction, which can be applied to (everyday) use in business and private settings. She realized that this could be a kind of follow-up from her MBA thesis as well.
2. Why writing in English
It might be strange for a Japanese author, i.e. native language being Japanese, to write blog articles in English, but it is logical and natural for the author. From her experience of writing a thesis on web, the author is fully aware that most information to be used for this kind of topic would be in English. This means it would be easier to write in English because it would be easier to write in the same language as the source and references as long as the author has sufficient English communication skills. As for the author, she has much experience of writing in English; thesis and reports on assignments for MBA, and at work variety of texts including press releases, internal articles and executive messages/speeches in English and Japanese besides checking web contents and catalogue texts. The fact that most relevant information would be in English implies that the target for the articles would be mostly people who can read and communicate well in English. From all these points, author decided to write in English.
3. Why blog articles
After profound consideration, the author concluded that series of blog articles in not-too-casual style is the best. Considering the objectives and targets, she first thought perhaps some other format is appropriate; however, formal paper would be over the top and also too big a hurdle to start and continue. The author wanted to write more casually. In addition, this kind of topic evolves momentarily and the author preferred something flexible. Thus, the author decided to write blog articles in series, in not-too-casual style.
The author also writes blog articles in Japanese, but the target and objectives is different from English ones and therefore the style is different. Many Japanese blog articles are casual (many are like diary) and her Japanese blog articles are in a casual style as well, in a “talking-to-readers” style, similarly to the e-newsletter with many links to related web contents she has been writing and distributing for more than 5 years.
4. What does writing this blog article series mean to the author
For the author, writing this blog article series is a way of self-expressing her belief and thoughts, and also a way of focusing on her careers. She was originally IT illiterate but changed her role and position to start Internet/web initiatives in March 2001 by job posting system when she was working for her ex-employer, marking a turning point in her career. (Her ex-bosses and colleagues were extremely surprised about this). This was because she “felt” the potential of the Internet and believed that the success of the company and the individual in the new economy of 21st century would be determined by effective use of IT and the Internet technology (together with English communication skill plus strengths/unique skill/competency that can be paraphrased as core competency) in all realms of business and management, regardless of the industry, the organization, the function of the role. It does not necessarily mean that the user of IT and the Internet technology need to know much about the technology itself.
The Internet/web is not only about technology and system engineers, but is a tool/platform for innovation in business and management, and therefore it must be aligned with the overall business and management strategy, meaning it must be effectively mixed with traditional infrastructure, systems and media/channels, based on the clicks & mortar concept. This is why the author has been driving (global) web initiatives AND driving and advocating media mix for online and offline synergy, developing various concepts and frameworks. She believes that this concept should be applied to online business as well because it is very unlikely for any business to be fulfilled in am exclusive online/virtual world
Such of her beliefs has become stronger and stronger although the author’s role had not necessarily been focusing on Internet/web for the past 3 years. And now that Web 2.0/social media has become a hot topic, she strongly believes that it is high time for her to go back to the Internet/web and leverage Web 2.0. The author had a kind of community and relationship concept of social media in mind when she stated in her MBA thesis on web equity that the key for website success would be “stickiness” of the site and retention of web users. The fact that her current employer started to leverage Web 2.0 (e.g. Yammer, a microblogging website) worldwide and she uses it daily is also a wind-wing situation. So she first joined LinkedIn, and started Facebook and Twitter, then Japanese blog followed by English blog. Many of her Japanese blog articles are about how she is leveraging Web 2.0 and social media including simple explanation of Twitter and some tips. But she concluded that leveraging social media vehicles including LinkedIn and Twitter and writing blog articles in English on this topic is good if she is to study and give output professionally to share and utilize in business.
The author hope the above would help readers better understand the background of the series of blog articles.
Should you have any further questions and comments, please let the author know. She would be delighted to know.
The next article is
Vol.4: What is Web 2.0? What Distinguishes Web 2.0 from Web 1.0?
http://megumioyanagi.blogspot.com/2009/10/what-is-web-20-what-distinguishes-web.html
Sunday, 4 October 2009
Vol.2: How Companies are Benefiting from Web 2.0?
This article is vol.2 of the “Future Direction of Web 2.0 and Internet Marketing“.
To follow vol.1 which was the introduction, how Web 2.0 is currently used by companies and how companies are benefiting from Web 2.0 is clarified first from the author’s viewpoint, from recent survey results of “How companies are benefiting from Web 2.0: McKinsey Global Survey Results” and “Social Media’s Primary Use: Marketing” which was conducted by Bobson Executive Education & Mzinga, both issued in September, 2009.
1. Who Benefits From Web 2.0 Technologies?
It can be concluded from the survey results that it is IT executives in high tech/telecom industry of large companies in India or North America who benefit the most from using Web 2.0 technologies. The author feels that such people are probably what many of us imagine as someone who utilizes Web 2.0 the most.
1) Industry
The survey result concludes that high tech/telecom users benefit the most, followed by business/legal/ professional services, manufacturing and financial. Manufacturing and financial are about the same. To the author, the fact that high tech/telecom is the top industry is not surprising because they develop leading-edge IT and communication technology and services to lead the use of such technology and services to grow their own business.
The author find it logical that professional service comes next according to the survey because in general, services (e.g. convenience, cost competitiveness) are drastically improved with the use of IT, often to create a new business model and therefore is said to be of good affinity with Internet and web. IT and web cannot be used in the isolated virtual world but online & offline synergy concept needs to be applied even for Internet-oriented businesses. For example, Amazon’s business can be achieved by collaboration with transportation companies etc. The author feels this is one good reason why “clicks & mortar” (vs. “bricks & mortar” of old economy symbolized by manufacturing companies) concept of Charles Schwab was defined, and therefore finance is expected to benefit more.
2) Company Size
According to the survey results, companies with revenues exceeding $1 billion are likely to benefit than smaller companies. This is because big companies are likely to have more staff to manage Web 2.0 and the technology spreads very quickly among the social networks of these individuals. Also they tend to have more customers, in number and diversity, so they have more chance to gain benefits from using Web 2.0 technology.
The author strongly feels that very small companies should benefit from Web 2.0 as well because they are usually more flexible, and Web 2.0 can cost very little according to how they use. Small companies with little resources, for example, could decide to leverage technologies and services that cost very little such as blog, micro blogging (e.g. Facebook and Twitter) and video services (e.g. YouTube), instead of developing a new system/software/programme from scratch that needs much investment. This is one reason why we find quite a few Internet venture business and (SOHO) individuals that are capable of generating revenue to be successful in business, which was not thought to be realistic in the old economy.
3) Region
From the survey results, India and North America enjoy customer benefit the most, and India and China enjoy benefits flowing from their interactions with customer and partners. This is logical for the author considering the mechanism of the global economy and how global companies operate in such an environment.
This is also in conformity with what is depicted in “The World Is Flat” by Thomas L. Friedman. The author would explain this from the fact that North America was the starter of the IT innovation and Internet business, and now India has abundant IT professionals and therefore many of IT services are outsourced to India. China has been said to be “the factory of the world” since the 1990s and in many cases, China is responsible for manufacturing part of a value chain of manufacturing companies, whether it is of a single company or a “networked company” consisting of multiple-companies of business partners.
2. In What Way Companies Are Benefiting Web 2.0?
The survey results draw conclusion that companies seem to gain measurable gains the most from customer-related purposes, especially in marketing. They also benefit from internal purposes and working with external partners/suppliers, especially in increasing speed of access to knowledge. The author would say that this is attributed to the characteristics of Internet and Web 2.0 in comparison to other traditional platform/media/tool, summarized with such key words as ubiquitous, 365 days/24 days, speed, connectivity and interactivity.
1) Internal Purpose
From the survey results, the author conclude that in short, benefit of internal purpose is increase in productivity and cost by internal collaboration and learning, and this is the objective of many internal IT projects in many companies. In addition, companies benefit the most from increasing speed of access to knowledge, followed by reducing communication costs, increasing speed of access to internal experts, and decreasing travel costs.
Moreover, from the survey results, the benefits are ensured if Web 2.0 is integrated into employees’ day-to-day work activities, senior leaders be the role modeling/championing use of technology, and informal incentives are provided.
2) Customer-Related Purpose
From the survey results the author feels that companies benefit from customer-related purpose the most, primarily in effectiveness and efficiency of marketing, i.e. activities engaged in the touch point with customers. Also, the author concluds that the benefits include increasing effectiveness of marketing (awareness which presumably include PR and advertising, consideration, conversion and loyalty), reducing marketing costs, reducing time to market for products/services, and increasing customer satisfaction. Furthermore, it can be said that reduce in marketing cost is presumably to include factors mentioned in internal purposes such as reducing communication costs, travel costs and operational costs.
In addition, it can be said from the survey results that the benefits are ensured, similarly to internal purposes, if Web 2.0 is integrated with other modes of customer interaction, Web 2.0 initiatives to customers is marketed, and informal incentives are provided.
3) Working With External Partners/Suppliers
According to the survey results, benefits from working with external partners/suppliers are basically the same with internal purpose. To the author, this is not surprising because external partners/suppliers can be said as members of networked company, all collaborating to create and provide value proposition to customers.
The survey results also indicates that the benefits are ensured, similarly to customer-related purposes, if Web 2.0 is integrated with other modes of partner/supplier interaction, participation of leading partners/suppliers/external experts to gain critical mass is ensured, Web 2.0 initiatives to partners/suppliers/suppliers/external partners is marketed, and informal incentives are provided.
3. How Companies Use Web 2.0 Technologies?
The author concludes from the survey results that companies usually use a mix of variety of Web 2.0 vehicles to multiply the opportunities for collaboration and to allow knowledge and information to spread quickly and effectively, for internal purposes, customer-related purposes and working with external partners/suppliers.
The author also concludes that for all three purposes, blogs, social networking, automatic information feeds of RSS, video sharing and wikis are widely used, which are the same tools that are popular among consumers. Also, web videos are becoming more frequently used with the technology improvements, enabling companies to produce and disseminate within organizations.
Now that the total picture of how companies currently use Web 2.0 is clarified, factors distinguishing Web 2.0 from Web 1.0 will be studied next.
References:-
How companies are benefiting from Web 2.0: McKinsey Global Survey Results
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Business_Technology/BT_Strategy/How_companies_are_benefiting_from_Web_20_McKinsey_Global_Survey_Results_2432
Social Media’s Primary Use: Marketing
http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2009/161/social-medias-primary-use-marketing
The web users who have read this article may be interested to read:-
http://megumioyanagi.blogspot.com/2009/09/future-direction-of-web-20-and-internet.html
To follow vol.1 which was the introduction, how Web 2.0 is currently used by companies and how companies are benefiting from Web 2.0 is clarified first from the author’s viewpoint, from recent survey results of “How companies are benefiting from Web 2.0: McKinsey Global Survey Results” and “Social Media’s Primary Use: Marketing” which was conducted by Bobson Executive Education & Mzinga, both issued in September, 2009.
1. Who Benefits From Web 2.0 Technologies?
It can be concluded from the survey results that it is IT executives in high tech/telecom industry of large companies in India or North America who benefit the most from using Web 2.0 technologies. The author feels that such people are probably what many of us imagine as someone who utilizes Web 2.0 the most.
1) Industry
The survey result concludes that high tech/telecom users benefit the most, followed by business/legal/ professional services, manufacturing and financial. Manufacturing and financial are about the same. To the author, the fact that high tech/telecom is the top industry is not surprising because they develop leading-edge IT and communication technology and services to lead the use of such technology and services to grow their own business.
The author find it logical that professional service comes next according to the survey because in general, services (e.g. convenience, cost competitiveness) are drastically improved with the use of IT, often to create a new business model and therefore is said to be of good affinity with Internet and web. IT and web cannot be used in the isolated virtual world but online & offline synergy concept needs to be applied even for Internet-oriented businesses. For example, Amazon’s business can be achieved by collaboration with transportation companies etc. The author feels this is one good reason why “clicks & mortar” (vs. “bricks & mortar” of old economy symbolized by manufacturing companies) concept of Charles Schwab was defined, and therefore finance is expected to benefit more.
2) Company Size
According to the survey results, companies with revenues exceeding $1 billion are likely to benefit than smaller companies. This is because big companies are likely to have more staff to manage Web 2.0 and the technology spreads very quickly among the social networks of these individuals. Also they tend to have more customers, in number and diversity, so they have more chance to gain benefits from using Web 2.0 technology.
The author strongly feels that very small companies should benefit from Web 2.0 as well because they are usually more flexible, and Web 2.0 can cost very little according to how they use. Small companies with little resources, for example, could decide to leverage technologies and services that cost very little such as blog, micro blogging (e.g. Facebook and Twitter) and video services (e.g. YouTube), instead of developing a new system/software/programme from scratch that needs much investment. This is one reason why we find quite a few Internet venture business and (SOHO) individuals that are capable of generating revenue to be successful in business, which was not thought to be realistic in the old economy.
3) Region
From the survey results, India and North America enjoy customer benefit the most, and India and China enjoy benefits flowing from their interactions with customer and partners. This is logical for the author considering the mechanism of the global economy and how global companies operate in such an environment.
This is also in conformity with what is depicted in “The World Is Flat” by Thomas L. Friedman. The author would explain this from the fact that North America was the starter of the IT innovation and Internet business, and now India has abundant IT professionals and therefore many of IT services are outsourced to India. China has been said to be “the factory of the world” since the 1990s and in many cases, China is responsible for manufacturing part of a value chain of manufacturing companies, whether it is of a single company or a “networked company” consisting of multiple-companies of business partners.
2. In What Way Companies Are Benefiting Web 2.0?
The survey results draw conclusion that companies seem to gain measurable gains the most from customer-related purposes, especially in marketing. They also benefit from internal purposes and working with external partners/suppliers, especially in increasing speed of access to knowledge. The author would say that this is attributed to the characteristics of Internet and Web 2.0 in comparison to other traditional platform/media/tool, summarized with such key words as ubiquitous, 365 days/24 days, speed, connectivity and interactivity.
1) Internal Purpose
From the survey results, the author conclude that in short, benefit of internal purpose is increase in productivity and cost by internal collaboration and learning, and this is the objective of many internal IT projects in many companies. In addition, companies benefit the most from increasing speed of access to knowledge, followed by reducing communication costs, increasing speed of access to internal experts, and decreasing travel costs.
Moreover, from the survey results, the benefits are ensured if Web 2.0 is integrated into employees’ day-to-day work activities, senior leaders be the role modeling/championing use of technology, and informal incentives are provided.
2) Customer-Related Purpose
From the survey results the author feels that companies benefit from customer-related purpose the most, primarily in effectiveness and efficiency of marketing, i.e. activities engaged in the touch point with customers. Also, the author concluds that the benefits include increasing effectiveness of marketing (awareness which presumably include PR and advertising, consideration, conversion and loyalty), reducing marketing costs, reducing time to market for products/services, and increasing customer satisfaction. Furthermore, it can be said that reduce in marketing cost is presumably to include factors mentioned in internal purposes such as reducing communication costs, travel costs and operational costs.
In addition, it can be said from the survey results that the benefits are ensured, similarly to internal purposes, if Web 2.0 is integrated with other modes of customer interaction, Web 2.0 initiatives to customers is marketed, and informal incentives are provided.
3) Working With External Partners/Suppliers
According to the survey results, benefits from working with external partners/suppliers are basically the same with internal purpose. To the author, this is not surprising because external partners/suppliers can be said as members of networked company, all collaborating to create and provide value proposition to customers.
The survey results also indicates that the benefits are ensured, similarly to customer-related purposes, if Web 2.0 is integrated with other modes of partner/supplier interaction, participation of leading partners/suppliers/external experts to gain critical mass is ensured, Web 2.0 initiatives to partners/suppliers/suppliers/external partners is marketed, and informal incentives are provided.
3. How Companies Use Web 2.0 Technologies?
The author concludes from the survey results that companies usually use a mix of variety of Web 2.0 vehicles to multiply the opportunities for collaboration and to allow knowledge and information to spread quickly and effectively, for internal purposes, customer-related purposes and working with external partners/suppliers.
The author also concludes that for all three purposes, blogs, social networking, automatic information feeds of RSS, video sharing and wikis are widely used, which are the same tools that are popular among consumers. Also, web videos are becoming more frequently used with the technology improvements, enabling companies to produce and disseminate within organizations.
Now that the total picture of how companies currently use Web 2.0 is clarified, factors distinguishing Web 2.0 from Web 1.0 will be studied next.
References:-
How companies are benefiting from Web 2.0: McKinsey Global Survey Results
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Business_Technology/BT_Strategy/How_companies_are_benefiting_from_Web_20_McKinsey_Global_Survey_Results_2432
Social Media’s Primary Use: Marketing
http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2009/161/social-medias-primary-use-marketing
The web users who have read this article may be interested to read:-
http://megumioyanagi.blogspot.com/2009/09/future-direction-of-web-20-and-internet.html
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