It seems as if every conversation in the industry is peppered with "Two
Dot Oh" references.

 

So what is it?

 

Tim O'Reilly who coined the phrase defined it as:

 

"Web 2.0 is the business
revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as
platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new
platform."

 

Sounds a lot like "paradigm shift" and "bricks and clicks" and "mindshare
to me".

 

Short and sweet... it's anything that's different from how we have
traditionally viewed the web. It's not
so much a set of technologies as it is a mindset shared by developer and user.

 

Let's explore some of the tactics that have been labeled Web 2.0 arena in
an effort to reach a solid understanding of what to expect from the future of
the web.

SOCIAL NETWORKING
Everyone, regardless of age, culture, or profession is
social networking. From dating sites,
school and affinity sites - Facebook and MySpace - or professional networking -
LinkedIn and Plaxo Pulse social networking has radically changed our culture
and our expectation of what the web provides to us.

 

What's important for marketers to understand about social networking
is that it's about commitment and surrender - a commitment to add value to the
networks and a surrender to the seemingly chaotic communites.

 

It's no easy task preparing your company to embark into
social networking as a marketing activity - the basic idea of social networks
goes against every ingrained rule of branding and marketing - but if you can
succeed in social networking, the benefits are unrivaled. Imagine a world where your best customers
each help thousands of other discover and purchase your brand, around the
world, 24/7.

 

FLASH
QUILTS
Flash Quilts, sometimes seen as a design gimmick, have
helped the spread of Web 2.0, and spurred some amazing advances in our approach
to web marketing.

 

While generally not seen as "2.0", the importance of Flash
Quilts is that they shattered the "page" metaphor of websites. The LeoBurnett.com site goes one step
further. LeoBurnett.com shatters the
page metaphor quite simply with the presentation of an old-school page - pen
and paper.

 

Unlike the cumbersome metaphors that tried to immerse the
user in a virtual world - "The Village Square", "The Mall", the "Post Office",
LeoBurnett.com used familiarity, simplicity and freedom of action to create one
of the most natural, friendly and informational websites in existence.

 

Why does the site succeed?
Its fun, its playful, there's no learning curve, no "wrong moves" and it
communicates the brand and honor's its founder in the process.

 

BROADBAND
First broadband allowed marketers to throw more compelling
user experiences down the pipe in the form of richer media - animation, video,
downloads, sound, widgets, and streaming media.

 

Next, the rise in computing power and sophistication of
server side software has allowed marketers to deepen the user experience with
real time messaging, intelligent applications, all lead by groundbreaking
innovation and solid on-brand creative.

 

Probably the most notable and outlandish stunts that have
been tried in the last couple of years are MonkeeMail by Career Builder and
Subservient Chicken by Burger King.

 

Both went viral, but the difference this time was that the
viral response was based on the user experience, the interaction with the
application , not because of a wonderful but unchanging media snippet.

 

Interactive marketing is a "hits" driven business. And just like other hits driven businesses -
music, movies, video games - breakouts are rare but tremendously
rewarding.

 

Make sure your technologists and your creatives are challenging
each other to take your campaigns to the next level, each and every time. In any hits driven business there's no
substitute for raw ambition.

 

ONLINE MEDIA
Rich Media - Video, animation and music - is often heralded as part of 2.0, even though
it has been available on the web practically since day one. What's changed? Broadband, new streaming technology and
faster processing have lowered the level of user commitment. In the past, users needed to consider very
carefully whether to engage in rich media, be it a site game, or an online
video. They thought about the wait time
and the possibility of tying up their bandwidth for what might be a totally
lame experience.

 

Nobody thinks twice about the commitment of a mouse click
anymore. Videos start right up, sounds stream perfectly, and rich media
applications are seamlessly integrated into the browers and beyond.

 

Marketers love video because it's tangible, its familiar,
it's linear and mainly because there's an insatiable demand for video on the
web.

 

YouTube has become a viable alternative to broadcast media
buys. Low-Fi - reality TV production has
become the norm, not just for online video but for network television.

 

The cost of entry is negligible; the opportunity for
marketers is massive.

 

THE
INCREDIBLE SHRINKING WEBSITE
Lots of marketers miss this one, but it's probably the
most powerful of all of the Web 2.0 features; the atomization of web sites into
minute and highly portable and flexible pieces of content.

 

The rise of "mashup" sites, widgets, RSS and other feeds,
toolbars, gadgets for custom homepages, desktops, desktop replacements,
messaging tools, Wiki's, blog clients, SSM, WAP, MMS and browser alternatives
have made the concept of a "website" as dated as Tŷ Nant spring water and Sammy
Hagar fronting Van Halen.

 

Package your marketing information in a way that's fun,
cool, and useful and you'll create a constant connection to your
customers.

 

Its not just a "widget" or a "feed", it's not just free
media, it's a direct connection, an invitation from your customer to join them
in the living room, the office and even the bedroom.

 

SO WHAT?
There is so much noise, hype, and agency chest beating
about Web 2.0, that sometimes the simple yet fundamental changes in consumer
behavior that Web 2.0 allows are overlooked or brushed to the side.

 

So, what does Web 2.0 mean to marketers?
Is it just another repackaged product update witha prettier interface
and some new bells and whistles (streaming of course)? Or is it one of those "paradigm shifts" we've
heard so much about but never seen?
Perhaps it's in the eye of the beholder... Me, I see opportunity.