Apr 032012
 
 April 3, 2012

There has been a lot of discussion about Web 2.0 for a while now, and Web 3.0 is ‘supposedly’ around the corner.  But before we leap onto that particular bandwagon,what exactly is Web 2.0?

Wikipedia defines it as a:

“Loosely defined intersection of web application features that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design and collaboration on the World Wide Web.”

Good, glad we’re cleared that one up.

So, it’s interactive Web.  Sites that accept or encourage user input and social interaction are definitely Web 2.0, but it doesn’t stop there.  Examples of Web 2.0 include social networking sites, blogs, wikis, video sharing sites, hosted services, web applications and mashups.

WordPress sites and blogs are 2.0, as are e-commerce sites.

And, there’s lots more… (Thanks to Brian Solis)

Click to enlarge

Jan 052012
 
 January 5, 2012

Brain Solis gives us his insightful view on Awareness Networks recently published “2012 Social Marketing and New Media Predictions” report.

On the evolution of social business:

Companies of all sizes will need to transform their business and existing infrastructure, and reverse engineer the impact of business objectives and metrics. Businesses will have to embrace all of the disruptive elements, such as mobile and social technology, in a new, cohesive organization that is focused outward and inward.

On the subject of Big Data:

No organization, no matter how large or small, is ready for big data from a process, collaboration and innovation perspective. Business Intelligence (BI) is still siloed. In marketing, insights usually are still driven by community managers. Companies will need to centralize BI to feed every aspect of the business – marketing, product, innovation and customer service. Only then will BI help companies transform themselves into true social businesses.

On the migration from monitoring to intelligence:

Capturing information and transforming that information into actionable, measurable insight… This type of insight will not be marketing-driven but market- driven.

On the importance of mobile marketing:

Businesses need to understand if and how their customers use mobile devices, then provide a holistic experience that does not change for users as they navigate websites and mobile applications.

On the challenges facing marketers in 2012:

Recognizing that they are part of the problem. Today, much of what we see is still traditional marketing disguised as social media. It’s still 1-to-many. And, by default, they have created a marketing silo in their organizations. Marketers need to connect the entire organization and put everyone to work for marketing. We need to move to an era of 1-to-1-to-many