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Friday, February 03, 2006

O'Reilly: What Is Web 2.0

Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media introduce the term in 2003 but what does Web 2.0 mean? In his seminal document O'Reilly :
O'Reilly: What Is Web 2.0: "What Is Web 2.0 Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software" describes Web 2.0

The scenario: "The bursting of the dot-com bubble in the fall of 2001 marked a turning point for the web. Many people concluded that the web was overhyped, when in fact bubbles and consequent shakeouts appear to be a common feature of all technological revolutions. Shakeouts typically mark the point at which an ascendant technology is ready to take its place at center stage. The pretenders are given the bum's rush, the real success stories show their strength, and there begins to be an understanding of what separates one from the other."

He reckons that after "the crash" "the web was more important than ever, with exciting new applications and sites popping up with surprising regularity. What's more, the companies that had survived the collapse seemed to have some things in common. Could it be that the dot-com collapse marked some kind of turning point for the web, such that a call to action such as "Web 2.0" might make sense? We agreed that it did, and so the Web 2.0 Conference was born."

From initial brainstorming, we formulated our sense of Web 2.0 by example:

Web 1.0 Web 2.0
DoubleClick --> Google AdSense
Ofoto --> Flickr
Akamai --> BitTorrent
mp3.com --> Napster
Britannica Online --> Wikipedia
personal websites --> blogging
evite --> upcoming.org and EVDB
domain name speculation --> search engine optimization
page views --> cost per click
screen scraping --> web services
publishing --> participation
content management systems --> wikis
directories (taxonomy) --> tagging ("folksonomy")
stickiness --> syndication

Article reviews some examples then concludes:

Core Competencies of Web 2.0 Companies

In exploring the seven principles above, we've highlighted some of the principal features of Web 2.0. Each of the examples we've explored demonstrates one or more of those key principles, but may miss others. Let's close, therefore, by summarizing what we believe to be the core competencies of Web 2.0 companies:

Services, not packaged software, with cost-effective scalability
Control over unique, hard-to-recreate data sources that get richer as more people use them
Trusting users as co-developers
Harnessing collective intelligence
Leveraging the long tail through customer self-service
Software above the level of a single device
Lightweight user interfaces, development models, AND business models

The next time a company claims that it's "Web 2.0," test their features against the list above. The more points they score, the more they are worthy of the name. Remember, though, that excellence in one area may be more telling than some small steps in all seven.

Google

Thursday, February 02, 2006

21 Tips for Better Online Credibility

21 Tips for Better Online Credibility: "One way to increase on the conversion question is to increase credibility. To me it makes sense that if it adds credibility for the user, it's eventually gonna be rolled into an algorithm somewhere as well.

Every tip for credibility by it self may only create marginal benefits, but the sum total of their effects is improved credibility which equates to improved conversion...

1. About page Show your history.
2. Pictures of REAL people
3. An 800 numberPreferably with someone that actually answers it
4. Contact page with physical address
5. Quick responses to customer service requests
6. Confirm transactions or sign ups
7. References
8. Citations of brilliant people on your site
9. Guest authors
10. Site last updated tag
11. Go light on the ads
12. Please update your homepage.
13. Sign up with some credible folks
14. Link to good people.
15. No 404's
18. Speel correctly
19. Privacy policy
20. Display a contact e-mail prominently.
21. Have a freakin' sense of humor

Google
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