Dump out the terms RSS and AJAX to many people, and you'll get blank stares. Truth is, these same folks may already be using these Web 2.0 technologies (if they can be labeled that) in their everyday life. Google's products such as Gmail, Calendar and even the newly-released Spreadsheet all use AJAX technology to make the consumer experience smooth -- so it feels like you are running a locally-installed piece of software on your PC, when these services reside solely on the web.
Salesforce.com is, and has been, fostering a web-based way to keep sales teams and customer relationship teams connected and collaborating across the web at any time and from any Internet-connected machine. No more locally-installed sales figure tracking programs. Just log onto a website and voila! -- you're there.
In addition, you no longer have to visit a laundry list of websites every day to get your fill of the news -- whatever news you're interested in. Install an RSS aggregator (web-based like Bloglines or Rojo, or an application like FeedDemon), and have all your news delivered to your desktop instantly as updates happen.
All of these things comprise Web 2.0 (along with many other applications), and they are changing the way people use the web. Can companies adjust to how customers are going to find them? They better, since they pace of change on the web can happen seemingly overnight. If the companies you are investing in are on the web and aren't looking at Web 2.0 technologies, ask why. You don't want to be left behind.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-07-2006 @ 4:18PM
art said...
Why "re-invent the wheel" if the current one isn't broken, to mix up two adages.
I see only bad things coming from this "shared" information. After typing in ten passwords on my corporate network to get to my own e-mail, I am reminded that SECURITY is KING, not the ability to share. GOOG and other companies into this new technology better make damned sure they have the security issues fixed before taking a leap into the unknown. If history is any indication, their efforts will be met with a monumental failure the next time a virus comes along. Long live the stand-alone PC!!!
6-08-2006 @ 10:20AM
CRM Expert said...
Web 2.0 is just a flashy name for what’s next. Soon we will have web 3.0 and 4.0! The idea of creating SOA apps with web services APIs and connecting them in a mash-up is the way of the future.
While security might be an issue for web 2.0, it is even a greater issue for stand alone pc's. Also most servers running web 2.0 mashups are running on the less vulnerable OSs such as Linux and sun OS.
Hosted applications such as CRM with web 2.0 features such as AJAX will bridge the gab between desktop and web applications. Companies like net suite, salesboom.com and others are innovating the space rapidly.
6-08-2006 @ 5:21PM
Matt Fausey said...
"Web 2.0" is also about changing the concept that a website is a collection of pages that is to be browsed page-by-page. When we go to GMail, it is an application that happens to be online, with no software to install, no patches or new version updates, it's just there. It's also not just a collection pages. It's more like working with Outlook. There is no BACK button. Web 2.0 applications have to jump though lots of technical hoops because of security and browser restrictions. I foresee future browser versions catering to the needs of "Web 2.0", which will allow for far greater functionality. Web 2.0 throws a monkey wrench at advertisers, because what is a "Page View" anymore?