Web 2.0 and Your Association

In this increasingly wired world, businesses have had to adapt their strategies to meet the needs of an ever more discerning consumer with tailored – on demand content. Thus, it becomes vital that we understand the array of second generation (Web 2.0) capabilities that foster collaboration and sharing between users such as blogs, social networking, wikis, and folksonomies. It is time to evaluate the application of Web 2.0 functionalities to your own organization; understand the checks and balances needed and construct the business case for adapting Web 2.0 functionality and measuring ROI.

“Search-industry companies, such as Google and Yahoo, are helping to drive the current evolution of the Web from its infancy as a publishing medium to a more mature existence involving broad-based participation and engagement. Web 2.0,” as this evolution is called today, is all about the collaboration of content creators everywhere–ordinary people like you and me.” so writes Jeff De Cagna.

Jeff De Cagna conducted an interview of John Battelle, incorporating Web 2.0 and asked a leading question. “What do you think is the likely trajectory for the whole notion of Web 2.0, both in terms of the evolution of social software and participation and as a meme, or unit of shared cultural information, in its own right? “Web 2.0 will run its course, responds, John.

“As an idea, it’s immensely useful, because it describes a certain way of approaching the world both from a business perspective as well as from the perspective of the kinds of products and services that are offered. It’s a philosophy in terms of being customer driven as opposed to corporate driven, but over time it will become quaint. … There is proof for Web 2.0. There are businesses, such as Google, Amazon, and eBay, that are living, breathing, profitable, and world-changing examples of Web 2.0 principles. Battle continues, “If your organization is not engaged in a robust conversation online–if you’re not blogging or using other Web 2.0 technologies–you’re not going to be as readily available to the public when they are searching for answers to their questions. “

Perhaps it is time we asked, what exactly is Web 2.0? There appears to be several references defining Web 2.0, some of which read as follows: “Web 2.0 is a perceived or proposed second generation of the web. This is where the web has evolved and improved over time and now offers better and more up to date services like blogs, wiki’s, social networking sites etc. The second phase of architecture and application development for the web. Web 2.0 applications often use a combination of techniques devised in the late 1990s, including public web service APIs (dating from 1998), Ajax (1998), and web syndication (1997).

“There is some argument about the exact definition of Web 2.0; however, it is commonly agreed that Web 2.0 services focus on participation as a key part of the value they provide. Initially, this sounds very much like the association model in which volunteers already largely drive organizations. However, Web 2.0 services are able to scale participation up to the level of hundreds of thousands of people. The challenge for associations is that their governance structures, which are primary vehicles for participation, cannot scale to embrace a significant portion of their members. If you accept that expectations will change in time, and members will demand more meaningful participation, how can you provide that as part of the membership experience rather than losing members when they go elsewhere to find it?”

In a comment relating to Web 2.0 Virgil writes: “for any organization today be it non-profit, for-profit, etc - the more important trend that Web 2.0 has helped to accelerate is the rise of the notion of the “citizen producer” of personal content, products or services. Now anyone has the “power to associate” or to self-determine how their personal time and creativity is spent. Together with the massive impact of changes in demographic preferences for how people want to create, collaborate and consume online, and you have conditions that have and will change the dynamics of how we manage businesses.
Everyone knows that we all have different learning preferences. Turns out this is true in an online world too concerning creating, collaborating or consuming content online.”

Web 2.0? Addressing the needs of the community! That’s what its all about.