Since the creation and updated software of Web 2.0, it has
caused major changes in the business market and has changed the value of the
world’s success in our economy today. After the earlier and first versions of
the World Wide Web were created, very few businesses have adapted to the world
of online business, or e-marketing, due to the fact that the use of the Web was
uncommon and not as educational as it is today to any user. But with the
expansion of our World Wide Web today, almost every company is incorporated in
some way, major or minor, in using Web 2.0 to run a company’s business.
Companies today using this major
computer software have revolutionized their business with consumers, making the
economy run much smoother with available and easy access to the business world.
As Pete Swabey puts it in an article he had written on this topic, “Web 2.0 replaces the view of a website as
analogous to a publication, wherein a trusted source provides information to be
consumed by the user, with one that sees websites as tools for structured
interaction between people.” [1] It is important that these thriving
businesses take part of the social networking era, and enforce this growing
power of communication between users to increase their business, as well as
improving the company itself. Because of the sudden boom in online marketing,
and creation of new technological devices to enhance this business anywhere or
on the go, companies are today creating specific departments for this field of
business in which these companies set aside funding to better benefit the
company. “But other companies, facing an
expected cut in IT budgets, are excited by the prospects of equipping end-users
with the power to write their own applications with freely-downloadable tools
and components.” [2]
With the increase of online users
sharing information with Web 2.0, there unfortunately come risks and problems
pertaining to the control of this creation of online technology. In an article
by Patrick Cunningham relating to issues and risks of Web 2.0 and the
involvement of cloud computing, he states and lists several factors of why
these functions for any user are not as sufficient and secure when applying any
information online. His article contains the following reasons:
1. Information is more difficult to monitor
and secure.
2. Service interruptions are outside the
organization’s control.
3. E-discovery is more difficult without
physical access to storage media.
4. Data available for forensic examination is
lost when data is moved from local storage.
5. They do not allow systematic control over
creating, storing, or deleting information.
6. Lack or loss of connectivity prevents work
for those depending on them.
7. Their casual nature may blur the line
between business and personal use. [3]
As Internet connectivity becomes
more advanced with more creation of wireless networks, either public, or
private, the security of sharing online information is at times uncontrollable.
When it comes to the Internet and its connections, the processes and input
coding to form any of these IP connections can possibly be taken advantage of
by unknown users, considering that the data is the same language in creating
any Web 2.0 connection to users. When it comes to the creation of anything
these days, there are always risks and consequences to be involved. As for
businesses, the risk that they take is having their industry viewed by anyone,
including their competitors, which makes e-marketing and advertising on the Web
more of a competition for any two businesses alike.
As
businesses today take on the new challenges and options for Web 2.0, they are
also in the process of not just learning it for themselves, but they are also
educating their consumers on how they function with this new technology and how
they can adapt to it the same way. It is the goal to retain their consumers by
expanding the education of their business and how they can be helpful to better
anyone’s needs. Some companies have seen the sharing and feedback of consumers
to be cost effective, instead of previous methods of reaching out to their
customers. In an article from The Wall Street Journal, they say interview
several marketing managers from smaller companies, with one example stating
that, “as a way to obtain consumer
feedback and ideas for product development, the online community is much faster
and cheaper than the traditional focus groups and surveys used in the past. The
conversations consumers have with each other, he adds, result in "some of
the most interesting insights," including gift ideas for specific
occasions, such as a college graduation, and the prices consumers are willing
to pay for different gifts.” [4]
Such examples of
consumer conversation and sharing information online include web devices sites
such as blogs, wikis, and forums. The articles includes, “Similarly, a large technology company uses several Web 2.0 tools to
improve collaboration with both its business partners and consumers. Among
other things, company employees have created wikis -- Web sites that allow
users to add, delete and edit content -- to list answers to frequently asked
questions about each product, and consumers have added significant
contributions. For instance, within days of the release of a new piece of
software by the company, consumers spotted a problem with it and posted a way
for users to deal with it. They later proposed a way to fix the problem, which
the company adopted. Having those solutions available so quickly showed
customers that the company was on top of problems with its products.” [4]
In conclusion,
Web 2.0 has been a beneficial factor to the successes of many companies, and it
has increased their markets to the World Wide Web. Perhaps Web 2.0 to them is a
new way of communicating, or telemarketing, with the advantage of letting
consumers use their own personal time, unlike wasted and unexpected time on the
phone or in person, and learn more with this easy access technology. And now
with the future updates and creation of Web 3.0 as stated by some of the
articles I have researched, the jump from one to the other would need to have a
major differential benefit in order for any user, or businesses in this case,
to keep up with any changes that may seem logical and better than Web 2.0.
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