NFIB

What Is Web 2.0, And What Does It Mean For Your Business?
11/ 21/ 2005

If you believe early-adopting technology-types, there’s a whole new Web out there. To the rest of us, it may look the same as the old Web, but the tech types believe it’s so different, it needs a new name. Perhaps they could have named it Son of Web or Web Jr., but those who name such things apparently all agreed on the label Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 is not a product, rather it is a “notion” or a catch-phrase to refer to a long-predicted day when computer applications and data are stored not on your computer’s hard drive, but rather on a server (yours or a “host” service), accessible via the Internet. A new generation of Web applications, ubiquitous and wireless broadband Internet access and new business models not based on bubble-creating financial expectations, are a few of the driving forces behind the Web 2.0 idea.

With your work and data accessible from anywhere,possibilities emerge for a wide array of collaborative and participatory online activities for consumers and businesses — small businesses, in particular. Here are some ways the Web 2.0 prophets envision you’ll be using such an approach to run your business:

1. Your primary suite of office software (word processing, presentation, spreadsheets) will reside on the Web, accessible by you from any location. Even if you use desktop software, you’ll see the introduction of Web-based storage and sharing of the data built into the next generation of all such programs.

2. You’ll be using Web-based calendars, project management and communications (e-mail, voice, instant messaging) applications that are accessible via your computer, phone, PDA or TV. You’ll be able to invite others to join you in viewing or working on any of this data in real-time.

3. You’ll be doing a lot less browsing and a lot more subscribing to information that will constantly flow into different programs — calendars, RSS news readers, spreadsheets.

Another prediction: You’ll grow tired of the term “Web 2.0” long before you’re fully plugged into it.

For samples of Web 2.0 applications, visit the links below.

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