Paul Pedrazzi - September 2007
Welcome to my first article in Profit Online. I currently run AppsLab, Oracle Application Division's thinktank designed to investigate new technologies and their impact on business. In that role, my team spends a lot of time driving new ideas like Web 2.0 into Oracle to make us all more productive and to facilitate learning at the same time. In this role, I spend a lot of time speaking with businesspeople about the new web. Let's jump right in and tackle the three main questions I hear whenever Web 2.0 is mentioned.
What is Web 2.0 (and Enterprise 2.0)?
Web 2.0 is a category of Internet software that is decidedly more social, with a simple, but compelling interface. Good examples of social software include LinkedIN, MySpace, and Facebook; these are applications that put people at the center of the experience. When people speak of this type of software behind the firewall, they tend to use the term Enterprise 2.0, but for our purposes we'll lump it all in Web 2.0.
The biggest problem with the term Web 2.0 is that the hype is off the charts. It seems today that anyone with a new product or service is claiming "2.0" in the hopes it might land them in the press—or more importantly, in front of a paying customer. This has happened before, and if you hang around long enough, it will happen again (Can you say Web 3.0?). With all of this noise, it's easy to become frustrated, proclaim there's nothing new, and move on—closing the book on your research into Web 2.0 to protect your sanity.
Unfortunately, taking this position, you risk missing the value that lies within the Web 2.0 movement. The web of yesterday is the web of today – true enough. In fact Amazon has had collaborative functionality (voting, commenting, and reviews) for years. What is different now is the way the technology is being used. Web 2.0 is a much more participatory model that turns business on its head. I'll dive into the details in future installments, but for now consider Comscore's recent findings that nearly 200M people visited the top social networking sites in June 2007 alone. There is clearly something going on.
Why should I care?
This question always strikes me a bit strange. It's a bit like asking if you should care about the Internet. Regardless of whether you cared or not, the Internet has become a major force in reshaping every facet of modern life and business. Web 2.0 is simply more of the same, and it is continuing to morph our lives. However, from an organizational perspective, a complacent view is even more troubling. The reality is that your employees have embraced it already. The only question is your reaction to this phenomenon. Will it be one of isolation or understanding?
