THE BIG QUESTION: WHAT IS WEB 2.0?
Posted by: Emily Copeland

The internet has traditionally been a place where you could find information, check emails, read the news, or make purchases. It used to be all about one-way transfers of information - stories were published for you to read, you could email photos from your weekend's activities, or you could listen to a song being streamed before downloading it.

Web 2.0 is the next stage of the internet. It encourages internet use for collaboration, sharing of information, creativity, and two-way conversations. Examples of web 2.0 applications include sites such as MySpace, YouTube, Blogger, and Facebook - many of which you may already be using. On these sites information is shared, audiences are able to collaborate, and two-way conversation is encouraged - whether that is through reviews, comments, or the ability to edit and update the content that currently exists.

To put it simply, Web 1.0 was about 'You' and 'I', while Web 2.0 is all about 'Us'. Web 1.0 brought the internet into our lives, while Web 2.0 brings our lives onto the internet.

According to Gartner, the world's leading IT research and advisory firm, the benefits of Web 2.0 for organisations include:

• Core enterprise applications will become more effective (such as managing your member databases, and finances)
• Web 2.0 platforms can be highly effective in overall procurement (such as increasing and retaining your membership base)
• Lessons from Web 2.0 community and social networking success stories can be leveraged within the enterprise for more efficient knowledge worker collaboration and overall employee satisfaction
• 'Tagging' content can greatly increase the navigation of internal and external information and increase information-based content consumption and use
• Web 2.0 communities can be used for organisation or new product development feedback, targeting valuable marketing resources
• Targeting bloggers and other influential Web users can help to control an organisation's image and influence publicity for the positive
• Making Web-based marketing the norm, rather than the exception, will help optimise overall marketing spend.