What's the Difference Between Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0?

Last week, I attended the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco (March 31-April 3, 2009). I found the name 2.0 interesting because many at the Expo have started referring to Web 3.0. If you are scratching your head and still trying to figure out what Web 1.0 means, don't worry. Even those in the industry are still trying to figure it out. While there is no universally agreed-upon definition, here is a brief guide to the terminologies of the web:

Web 1.0: "The Information Web". Content is mostly static, not dynamic. Companies started creating websites, which were basicially digitized brochures. Mostly one-way and one-to-many communication pattern (similar to ads on television). Finding information or determing which products/services to purchase involves search engines (Google, Yahoo etc.) or specific websites offering "expert" opinions.

Web 2.0: "The Social & Personal Web". People wanted to contribute and technology made it easier to do so. As a result, Blogging, Podcasts, Wikis and social sites became popular. Interactive features, such as comment boxes and voting widgets started springing up everwhere. Finding information or determining which products/services to purchase involves looking at recommendation sites based on "the crowd's opinion" (such as Yelp and TripAdvisor) and asking friends through social sites (Facebook, MySpace etc.).

Web 3.0: "The Semantic Web". Basically, it's Web 2.0 on steroids. As more and more people join an ever expanding array of social networks, easily managing all of those networks becomes crucial. Companies are starting to offer solutions for this problem, such as push-button updates (i.e. you update your status once and it populates this information across all of your social networks at the same time).

While the world wide web is rapidly evolving, Web 3.0 won't necessarily kill off what came before. We will still be Googling for a long time to come.

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Darwinism on the Web: Surviving & Thriving in a Web 2.0 World

That catchy title isn't my own, but rather one of the topics being discussed at the Web 2.0 Expo I am attending in San Francisco (March 31-April 3rd). Thought I'd share a condensed version of the learnings with everyone who couldn't attend. The discussion was led by Soren Stamer of Coremedia.

Like the Dodo bird, businesses are in danger of extinction due to the rapid evolution of disruptive technologies, specifically Web 2.0. Soren asserts that there are several things a company must do to avoid that fate. Here are a few ideas mentioned in the session that will enable a company to not only survive, but also to thrive.

1) Empower your community: Listen, really listen to what your customers are saying. One easy way to find out what your customers (and non-customers for that matter) think of your brand is to set-up an RSS feed. It's a good idea to add the names of your competitors to that RSS feed.

2) Create Feedback Loops: Let your customers write what they think on your website. I know it's tough to let go of the control, but they are writing it elsewhere so why not open up to show that you value their opinions? Then, show you care by actually responding to comments. Tell your customers/prospective customers not only that you value their feedback, but that you actually use it (i.e. by making your product/service better etc.).

3) Engage in conversations: Be emotional and personal. This is quite a switch for most companies, especially larger organizations. People tend to tune out "corporate speak" though and they want to interact with real people.

4) Enable multiple touchpoints: Mobile, Web, Set-Top Boxes etc. People want to be able to engage with your brand when, where and how they want. So make it easy for them to do so.

5) Find ways to offer a great service for free. No doubt, this one is probably the toughest to swallow. If you are a for-profit company, your purpose is to actually make a profit, right? But what happens when several other companies set-up shop doing exactly what you are doing and they give it away for free? The time to think about the consequences is now, before your company goes the way of the Dodo bird.

Click here to learn more about Coremedia.

Also, there are still two days left for the Expo. If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, click here to find out how you can score free tickets:
http://www.web2expo.com/webexsf2009/public/content/free

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