Web 2.0 – The Web’s Edge
Instructor Teresa Pelkie
Impacts of Web 2.0 – Class # 14 Chapter 5
In this class we will look at the impact that Web 2.0 is likely to have or is already having in individuals, communities and business. As one of the main contributions of Web 2.0 is “social media”, we will focus mostly on this.
Social media
Social media is a term used to describe the collection of Internet applications that enables individuals and communities to gather, communicate, create, interact, share, and collaborate. Social media is a product of "user-generated content" - content that is contributed by participant interactions rather than the software developers.
Social media is media that interacts with you or that you can interact with.
Web2.0 was about a shift in application development and deployment. Rather than producing a product, and offering it to the consumer, the application evolved as users interacted with it, and as their
contributions guided the direction of the developers, to ultimately achieve a better and continually adapting application.
Although many social applications are designed for a specific purpose and audience, it is the users that found other uses that drove the direction of the product. Our society is not only being shaped by the rise of social media, but society is shaping the development and direction of it as well. The new social media may be re-shaping our lives, but we are also re-shaping the social media by our interactions with it.
Overview of social media
• Internet-based tools for sharing and discussing information
• Websites based on user participation, user interaction and user-generated content • User-created video, audio, text or multimedia that are published and shared in a social
environment
• Tools that allow groups to generate content and engage in peer-to-peer conversations and exchange of content
• Television, radio, movies. • CD, DVD, photo
Social media applications usually have the following characteristics in common:
• Participation o Contributions o Feedback o Conversation • Openness o Encourage opinions o Information freely available • Community
o Common interests • Connectedness
o Links to sites, resources, people
Types of social media
• Blogs • Wikis • Podcasts
• Social networks – Facebook, MySpace • Communities – Flickr, Delicious, YouTube
Impact on society
Our society has begun to embrace a wide variety of social media as part of our everyday lives. From social network sites to blogs and wikis, we are using the power of social media to communicate, share, produce and retrieve information.
The youth of today will be tomorrow’s leaders. They are growing up in a world where social media is playing a significant role in shaping their lives. The youth played a central role in the rise of some social media, but some was shaped by the adults and business world. How and why these applications are being used, varies among these groups.
Although our “digital natives” may know how to use the various social media applications, it doesn’t mean that they understand the underlying dynamics or the information that surrounds it. Adults are using tools to aggregate and disseminate information, but youth are predominantly not.
If we think about it, the Web was developed to share scientific information, not as a tool to change society. So does technology change society, or does society change society? Maybe it is society that is responsible for developing the tools that are used, and which have the power to change society, for both the good and the bad.
Social Media in Plain English ‐ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE
Social Network Sites
For the youth, social network sites became a place to establish an identity and hang out with friends. Although they may develop a connection with a stranger, the youth are more likely to interact within the circle of people that they know form the physical world. Adults, on the other hand, are more concerned with communicating with relatives and with people that they know from a distance or knew from the past. The median age of the Twitter member is 31.
Pros – it has been useful in • law enforcement • politics
• business and consumer service • education
• communication Cons
• take time away from activities such as studying, sports • expose you to scams and potential harm
• your identity is public • computer security
Education
Social media is connecting educators and learners in new ways. It broadens the way students
communicate with one another and provides an additional audience for their projects. Educators have found new methods for learning and teaching. Libraries are using social media to obtain and deliver information, which now exists in different formats.
News and Journalism
Blogs and other forms of social media are being used for editorial coverage. People are turning to blogs and communities such as Digg for information and to participate in current happenings. When a news story is published online, it can become social media if there is a place for readers to comment on it.
Politics
As much as social media has benefited candidates for a high-profile office like President of the United States it has also enabled people to speak out about any political issue at any scale. Many times social
aware of and get involved in local issues and to take a new look at local politicians who may have otherwise received relatively little attention.
Marketers and activists alike have taken notice of the Web 2.0 strategies and tactics that helped put Barack Obama in the White House. In addition to maintaining a presence on 15 online communities, he also developed http://my.barackobama.com – a social network, to promote his election.
You can read more at
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/barack_obama_internet_strategy_presentation.php
see video at - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRY720HE0DE
Government
Social media is being used to promote government services and information, job recruitments and announcements. The care helping different agencies to become more inter connected.
For example, the Library of Congress has public domain photos on Flickr - At
http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress, and www.usa.gov has a sidebar of “Government 2.0” links.
Marketing and Advertising
A company’s presence on social media sites is becoming important in Internet marketing.
PageRank or PR is Google’s system of counting link votes and determining which pages are most important based on them. These scores are then used along with many other things to determine if a page will rank well in a search. The below table shows that having a good presence on a social media site is becoming the best way to market your business or to promote anything. Social media increases search engine visibility and enhances rankings through social presence.
Social Media Site Google PR
Youtube.com 9 Facebook.com 9 Blogger.com 8 Myspace.com 8 Wordpress.com 9 Flickr.com 9
Traditionally, a company relied on expensive advertising and press releases to get noticed. Now you can publish your own content in the form of content-, blogs, YouTube videos, photos, and the like and reach consumers directly.
Liz Claman & David Asman from Fox Business News interviewed Mike Howard, COO of Kiwibox.com and Scott Monty, head of social media for Ford Motor Company about social networking. From advertising to interaction and viral to personal, hear what they say about the social networking space and businesses.
Scott Monty, head of social media for Ford Motor Company speaks in below video
Ford Motor company’s approach to social media - www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j4yzfC6ijY
Business
New Technologies = New Ways to Work with Customers
Social media has open up new ways of doing business, due to free tools, such as blogs, podcasts, and video sharing. These tools have become more effective than traditional, costly advertising. These tools allow one to provide feedback, organization and promotion. Social media provides new opportunities to create and communicate.
• products get better because customers can share their ideas and opinions – you can learn directly from customers
• customer reviews and ratings are more valuable than costly advertising
• customers can find exactly what they want based on information provided by others
Amazon.com is a great example of a Web 2.0 business. By allowing user participation, they provide
recommendations and related suggestions, which generate sales and promote other products.
Companies are successfully tapping the rich data and communication media on services like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to bootstrap brand and product conversations, virally reach new audiences, and transform existing customers into a loyal sales force.
Customer Relationships
Blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers. Businesses are using blogs to provide information and customer reviews about products, as well as resolve complaints.
Businesses are using Twitter, not necessarily to advertise, but to connect with their targeted customers and affiliates. The public now expects for your company to be on Twitter and have you interact with them.
Shift in thinking
In traditional media, such as magazines, newspapers, books, information was published for monetary gain. Only those with technical skill or credentials published the media.
Today, due to the power and low cost of computers, digital devices and high speed Internet, combined with the Web 2.0 online easy to use applications, anyone can publish a blog, and upload a photo or video. We see people coming together, contributing, and producing bodies of information and commentary for free.
If we think about open source software and creative commons licenses, we see that products and information is available without cost. So we have entered a new mode of thinking that money does not define the worth or value of something.
Economic direction – the Long Tail theory – what makes niche marketing possible?
The Long Tail is a marketing phrase coined in 2004 by Chris Anderson in Wired magazine which refers to the emerging "less is more" scenario in business. This concept is explained in his book “The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More”.
The web is opening up niches that might not otherwise be served by bigger companies. Companies such as Amazon.com or Netflix, that sell a large number of unique items, each in relatively small quantities, are not only thriving, but selling more that the companies that sell in large quantities.
The Long Tail refers to the economic curve of supply and demand. The head of the curve is very high, which measures the large sale of popular products that are in demand. As the demand for not so popular products decreases, so does the tail, which eventually disappears. The Long Tail, however, continues, as the sale of the not so popular products will continue due to the impact of the Internet.
Our economy is shifting from mass markets to millions of niches, due to the rise of distribution methods and unlimited storage capacity of the Internet. It is now possible to offer consumers a wide variety of products that might have been impossible years ago, due to communication and transportation limitations that have been overcome by the Internet.
The Long Tail Curve
see video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yku0GTrcuw
Where Are We Heading?
Tim O’Reilly speaks Web 2.0 - from Web 2.0 conference, San Francisco, April 2009
See videos at: http://fora.tv/2009/04/02/Tim_OReilly_Talks_Web_20#chapter_01
2009 Social Media Predictions
interesting video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxEoY4EMe9w
