How Web 2.0 Works

If you asked 1,000 Internet experts what “Web 2.0” is and what it means you’d likely get at least 500+ different answers or more. Naturally that means that when it comes to describing exactly how Web 2.0 works you’ll get just as many differing descriptions of the mechanics involved in this technology. Whether or not Web 2.0 is based on ideas and the applications of those ideas to integrate communications and bring about the flow of traffic, or on software and technology bringing people and data together, the basis today is really about making the flow of information / data multi-directional and free moving. This use facilitates the birth of ongoing interactive involvement by consumers, companies, employees, ideologists, politicians, entrepreneurs, and every other possible group in Internet traffic.

Social Networking, Blogging, Wikis, RSS Feeds – all of these and many other technologies and applications of Internet Traffic represent a fundamental change in the level of participation for people using the Internet today. One example is Business Collaboration using Blogs; this is a method to get employees more involved in their companies and in their company’s interests. This type of corporate / employee interaction is a fertile ground for new and innovative ideas – most totally free of charge for the company and with wide ranging benefits to employees as well. This in turn grants employees a greater feeling of democracy and a true voice in their corporate surroundings.

Another example of Web 2.0 is in the use of Wikis for effective low cost collaboration. Instead of using expensive software, often with high licensing fees – a Wiki can be setup in minutes and brings a ready platform for individuals in disparate locations, even different countries, into an online environment that facilitates the free flow of newly inspired development thinking and participation oriented think tanks for business expansion. COLLABORATION AGAIN!

Web 2.0 isn’t only a series of collaboration tools; it’s also the next generation of web applications. In the past applications were desktop based or client / server oriented. Today we’re seeing more and more applications being browser based, mostly dependent on the web, but with some offline components that allow an individual to continue work even when their Internet connection is down or unavailable. Because of the use of the Internet in applications we’re often seeing technologies ‘meshing’ with one another. Here’s another example; a coordinator creates a document discussing various prospective site locations for an upcoming conference, which uses online mapping resources (like Yahoo! or Google Maps) to give users immediate access to directions for those locations as well as identifying nearby hotels, restaurants and businesses.

Many companies today are also creating widgets that show time, weather, corporate calculators and calendars, and news aggregators. This is just one more new use of the Internet in businesses today. By bringing this information directly to customer or employee screens this makes the transfer of information much more fluid and often interactive. The key risk factor with these emerging technologies is security. Companies and business individuals must setup rules that govern how employees and customers use these new technologies to enhance traffic flow and the free movement of communications. Without such forethought and planning your business might be at risk. This planning must fit within your corporate infrastructure and your company’s employee and customer conduct regulations, rules and requirements.

Within this Web 2.0 environment you must have controls in place to watch over the feed-back loop and participatory system. Adding up all these technologies individually will mean many have uses that apply to your given business, with some companies wanting blogging and wikis but saying no to social networking. The bottom-line idea behind Web 2.0 is all about harnessing collective intelligence. Gathering individuals together, either within a company, or within a customer base (maybe both), all in order to use that massive amount of thought, inspiration and imagination on your behalf – for the benefit of your company, which in turn will benefit your employees and customers as well.

If this type of exciting new technology holds promise for you and your company, then you should read more about the meaning behind Web 2.0 on our hub page at http://hubpages.com/hub/The-History-and-Meaning-of-Web-20. You’ll be glad you did! Plus there may even be a free report that discusses just how you can apply this technology to your business today.