Web 2.0

Web 1.0 was CommerceWeb 2.0 is People

- Ross MayfieldWeb 2.0 seems to be like Pink Floyd lyrics: It can mean different things to different people, depending upon the your state of mind.- Kevin Maney

IntroductionIntroduction• The concept of "Web 2.0" began with a

conference brainstorming session between O'Reilly and MediaLive International in 2004

• The phrase "Web 2.0" hints at an improved form of the World Wide Web

• Emphasizing tools and platforms that enable the user to Tag, Blog, Comment, Modify, Augment, Rank, etc.

• The more explicit synonym of "Participatory Web"

Principles of Web 2.0

No Products but ServicesNo Products but Services

“There are no products, only solutions”

• Not what customer wants but why they want

• A problem solving approach

• Simple Solutions

CustomizationCustomization• Every individual is unique• Some people want to be different• Allow him to choose instead of forcing him

to use what you have made• Make him feel homee.g.

– My yahoo, Google Homepage, myspace– Firefox extensions

e.g. (This slide is better for reading online)

Customization• Every individual is unique• Allow him to choose instead of forcing him to use

what you have made• Some people want to be different• Make him feel homee.g.• My yahoo, Google Homepage, myspace, my

naukri??• Firefox extensions

e.g (This slide is better for taking printouts).

Focus on the “Long Tail”Focus on the “Long Tail”• Reach out to the entire web

• To the edges and not just to the centre, to the long tail and not the just the head

• Leverage customer-self service e.g. Google, StumbleUpon, orkut

Harnessing Collective Harnessing Collective IntelligenceIntelligence

Network effects from user contribution are the key to market dominance in Web 2.0 era

The Wisdom of crowds – Users add value

– Amazon, ebay - User reviews, similar items, most popular,

– Wikipedia – content can be added/edited by any web user,

– Flickr – tagging images – Cloudmark – Spam emails

Harnessing Collective Harnessing Collective Intelligence..Intelligence..

Some systems,designed to encourage participation – Pay for people to do it – ‘gimme five’– Get volunteers to perform the same

task•Inspired by the open source community

– Mutual benefits e.g. P2P sharing

Harnessing Collective Harnessing Collective IntelligenceIntelligence

• But only a small percentage of users will go to the trouble of adding value to your applications via explicit means.

• Therefore web 2.0 companies set inclusive defaults for aggregating user data and building value as side effect of ordinary use of the application.

• It requires radical experiment in trust“with enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow”

- Eric Raymond

Specialized DatabaseSpecialized Database• Every significant application to date

has been backed by a specialized database– E.g. Amazon, Google, Ebay

• Database management is the core competency of Web 2.0 companies

• “infoware” rather than merely “software”

Who owns the dataWho owns the data• Control over data has led to market

control and oversized financial returns• It will provide a sustainable competitive

advantage to the company• Especially is data sources are

expensive to create or amenable to increasing returns via network effects

• Race is to own certain classes of core data e.g. naukri.com, 99acre, yahoo

End of the Software Release End of the Software Release CycleCycle

• “Release Early and Release Often”• “Perpetual BETA”• Daily operations must become a core

competency • Software will cease to perform unless

it is maintained on a daily basis

End of the Software Release End of the Software Release Cycle..Cycle..

• Automate the maintenance process • Real time monitoring of user behavior

– Microsoft – upgrades every 2-3 yr– Flickr- Deploy new build up to every half hr

“Put two or three new features on some part of the site everyday, and if user don’t adopt them, take them out. If they like them roll them out on entire site” - Anonymous

Software above the level of a Single Software above the level of a Single DeviceDevice

• The PC is no longer the only access device for internet applications

• Applications that are limited to a single

device are less valuable than those that are connected.

• Design your application from the get-go to integrate services across handheld devices, PCs, and internet servers.

Benefits of Web 2.0Benefits of Web 2.0Recruitment:

Due to the cutting-edge underlying technologies and usability-focused interfaces (the ‘cool’ factor)

Organisations adopting Web 2.0 tend to attract sophisticated, high-caliber technical candidates.

Reduced cost: Not only are Web 2.0 offerings low-cost, but the same techniques can also be applied to existing (non-Web 2.0) products and services, lowering costs.

For example, wikis can enable your users to build documentation and knowledge base systems, with relatively little investment from yourself.

LoyaltyThe open, participatory Web 2.0 environment encourages user contribution, enhancing customer loyalty and lifespan.

Marketing/PR. By taking advantage of the aforementioned benefits, marketing and PR teams can implement low-cost, wide-coverage, viral strategies.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)Web 2.0 delivery mechanisms - such as Blogs and RSS - significantly enhance search engine exposure through their distributed nature

Benefits of Web 2.0Benefits of Web 2.0

Summing UpSumming Up• No products but solutions• Customization ability• Focus on long tail• Users add value• Specialized Database• Perpetual Beta• Software above the level of single

device

SoSo Far Far SoSo Good GoodIn the year and a half since, the term "Web 2.0" has clearly taken hold, with more than 9.5 million citations in Google.

2005 2006

What Next ??

Web 3.0Web 3.0• This term that has been coined to

describe the Semantic Web • It promises to “organize the world’s

information” • Can reason about information and

make new conclusions

Thank you !Thank you !

Satyajeet SinghSatyajeet Singh([email protected])([email protected])