Web2.0 seems to be finally de-buzzing.  Now we talk about social interactivity, online community and user generated content, which makes me a lot more comfortable. But, people are still missing the point.

Calling it Web2.0 is like talking about something that’s going to be, but already was.

From the beginning, the web was about community.   Sharing, collaborating, coalescing.  Sure its evolved a bit from the days when it was exclusively populated by American military command and control geeks, and Ivy League physics professors passing research coast to coast. We might say its gotten a bit more common, fair enough.  The ‘community’ has grown, and the tools for interaction have gotten a bit more advanced than the original bare bones hypertext markup language, BBS systems and FidoNet.

So, what makes such a buzz about web2.0? 

With so many interactive developments, critical mass played a part.  We common folk (professionally known as ‘users’) caught onto the idea that they could push into the sphere, as opposed to simply passively

basking in the glow of all that knowledge.  The enabling technologies were the fruit of many minds, and they reached an engaging critical mass that seduced the masses into participation.  It went from being perceived as an elite endeavour to a common pastime.  Simple technologies started the affair.

1. Simplified user management and the associated databases.
2. Online WYSIWYG text editors.
3. subscriber email

Not really such a big leap from rudimentary HTML with its H1-6, b, i, ahref tags and FTP, but somehow, just a little more approachable.  Thin end of the wedge.  It got a bit more juicy

1. interactive forums
2. online newsletters
3. user libraries

Framed within the growing bandwidth, increasing speed and resulting increase in pace, things began to get interesting.

1. instant messaging
2. jpg  based collaborative photo libraries
3. animation - flash

Better search opened the door to all that content, and we began to harvest the community knowledge on topics such as tech support, product reviews, hobby tips and tricks, and the list goes on.

This didn’t happen yesterday, so why all the buzz?

Business came to the party, and they brought budget!

• engaging interfaces, designs, all sorts of groovy widgets.
• Financing for purpose built websites and tools marketed towards community involvement
• Marketing to drive people to these sponsored environments
• Advertising to provide ROI
• Solutions that reduced cost of doing business and provide ROI

Lights - Camera - ACTION!  The small town becomes the big city.

So, what’s really changed in web2.0?

Yea, what’s really evolved besides increasing bandwidth enabling richer, more engaging content for an increasingly tech savvy audience?

• Brands have - they engage or perish in this new space.  They yield to grow.  They listen, not speak.  How many brands wish they could “Do the Dell?”
• Distribution has - middle men and women are in trouble.  Consumers are connecting with producers in new ways, and some businesses are losing relevancy.  Recording labels, for example. CD Sales are down, but music is exploding!
• Product differentiation strategies have - larger markets of potential customers with more segmentation metrics enables more detailed targeting with more specific products.  Simply, I’m talking about custom designed Nike shoes, or self published print to order novels on Amazon, but there are also online catalogues of JIT manufactured durables that apply just as well.

But, that’s still not the whole story.  What makes it really work?

We do.

• What is it that makes us play along?  Why do we Facebook, IM, flicker, blog, twitter, and game online?
• Why do we haunt forums, with our, artwork, opinions, expertise and perspectives?
• Why do we poll, monitor, subscribe, aggregate, and publish?

What is it about us that makes web2.0 work?  Three words:

1. Celebrity
2. Creativity
3. Humanity.

That’s what makes the web2.0 world go around.  Feed that beast and the rest falls into place.

Tags: Strategy, Marketing //