web 2.0

Uses of web 2.0 in businesses : 

Uses of web 2.0 in businesses Z0374829 Z0916395

Our company : 

Our company We are a medium sized book retailer We have stores around the country and have recently started to conduct a mail order service abroad We are looking for expansion on our current static website We are also looking into any technologies that would give our company a competitive advantage as we have a lot of competition

What is web 2.0 : 

What is web 2.0 No hard and fast definitions but: Internet based content that allows collaboration and interaction between users Most important is SIMPLICITY

Messaging : 

Messaging MSN and Google Mail Instant and quick No need to maintain company servers Makes it convenient to communicate in a large international company

Collaboration : 

Collaboration Basecamp- Allows users to file share and whiteboard Googletalk- To IM and videochat conference other employees Wiki’s- allow collaboration on documents Also inadvertent collaboration through web 2.0 such as: Cloudmark- Gets rid of spam based the organisation past history of spam deletion

International calling : 

International calling Free services such as skype allow free or considerably cheaper local and international phone calls or videochats It can allow virtual face to face meetings

Selling and reviews : 

Selling and reviews Amazon and eBay- collective activity of users to buy and sell items User activity helps to improve the sites creating better search results and increasing feedback via reviews It gives the company a database of buyers and sellers

Managing employees : 

Managing employees Yammer- Mircroblogging site to allow managers to see what employees are doing Private site for each company Handy for managers who have employees over several sites or working in the field.

Customer support : 

Customer support Instant chat to professionals if help is needed e.g. WebsiteAlive Private wiki – customers and employees can edit content and ask questions Voting and polls on social media sites.

Company image : 

Company image Blogging allows corporate website to create its own personality Promote society based ideas such as the use of fair trade products and charity work Share photos/videos on websites such as Flickr to create the perception of a charitable organisation

Events : 

Events The wide promotion of events using posts on Twitter and Facebook Advertise and promote to very large and diverse audiences Little or no cost Problem of invitations – one the events are published they are very hard to withdraw

Viral media : 

Viral media Main use of this is YouTube Companies could have either individual videos or corporate channels Access to a large established audience for free All videos are in one place so easy to find Have the potential to become an international phenomenon e.g. T-Mobile dance has been viewed 24,242,235 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM)

Customer loyalty : 

Customer loyalty Can be kept and expanded using sites such as Twitter and Facebook Allows followers to keep track of the company and hear all their latest news May also be used as a marketing tool It engages customers via RSS links and fan pages

Disadvantages : 

Disadvantages User generated content may not always be true/ there are mistakes Uses too much jargon- users are unclear Privacy/ ownership issues Control issues- regulation/ authority Wrong image/ under estimated power of web 2.0 Could be a possible bubble Lack of a common business model Value of opinion- not qualified to give opinion Information not ready to be published

Advantages : 

Advantages Cost reduction New audiences Rapid growth Quick and easy to start up Very accessible and user friendly Popular with public Allows linking of sites, people and ideas Quick update of changes AJAX programming allows creators to add/remove content without reloading the full page Easy to test

Conclusion : 

Conclusion As many benefits web 2.0 can bring it is important to recognise that without monitoring, appropriate technology and installation it may to more harm that good Transitions must be carefully managed and matched to the company objectives and needs, if so it will become an important asset and generate large amounts of revenue for the company. Future- Web 3.0????

References : 

References www.msn.com www.googlemail.com www.googletalk.com www.basecamphq.com www.wikkipedia.com www.cloudmark.com www.skpe.com www.amazon.com www.ebay.com www.twitter.com www.facebook.com www.youtube.com www.itunes.com www.yammer.com www.websitealive.com www.flickr.com