Web 2.0 and the Enterprise
Web 2.0 seems to be all the rage these days. Many describe it as a "second coming" of the Internet - the first Internet being a static, information-based place, and the new Web 2.0 being more interactive, social and collaborative. Users of Web 2.0 features such as blogs can speak their mind and showcase their life, while giving their readers the ability to comment on whatever they say.
Even though much of the Web 2.0 technologies gained their fame on the consumer end, many companies are now starting to embrace the technologies to better communicate with their customers, prospects and employees.
Enter The Blog
One tool these companies are using is the Blog. Executives from Microsoft, Sun and even Metrix have started writing blogs and using them to communicate and put a human face on their company. The Metrix Blog, for instance, talks about our strengths - service management and the software that automates it.
Other blogs can be used internally for executives and employees to communicate with the rest of the company. For example, employees who are taking on a new enterprise software implementation might start a blog to let other employees know about their progress, problems and solutions. Readers of that blog could respond to posts on specific topics to share information, aiding in corporate collaboration and problem solving.
Wikis For Collaboration
Although blogs are great for continually updated communication, to be in a truly collaborative environment, organizations might want to consider a wiki. Wikis are collaborative Web sites where each user can add to, or edit, the information on the site. The best example of a wiki would be the hugely popular Wikipedia, which is a free online encyclopedia that can be edited by anyone.
Now imagine using wiki software to document your organization’s programming and testing. Teams of programmers often have the need to share knowledge and documentation. With a wiki, each can add to and edit the wiki making for more collaborative documentation between the team. A wiki could also be used internally for document editing, strategy planning and any other projects that require collaborative work across an organization.
You could even use a wiki to help your customers better use your products. Say, for example, you have a product that requires preventative maintenance which can be very complex and can change over the life of the product. If you had a customer wiki, customers could help each other by documenting their procedures and your company could also add in tips and tricks.
The blog and the wiki are two of the more popular Web 2.0 technologies that companies are starting to use, however, they aren’t the only ones. Mashups, RSS and Web Widgets are all technologies that can help your business better communicate with customers, prospects and employees.
Inside and outside the enterprise, the future of Web 2.0 looks promising. Major companies such as Microsoft are using technologies such as RSS in the newest releases of their software and new companies are being formed every day using Web 2.0 technologies as their backbone. What it all comes down to is if there is a way to strengthen your relationships with customers, prospects and employees, the smart companies will dive right in.