Business | Technology
Web 2.0 is present tense, not future
There is a culture clash coming, and something tells me it's going to get nasty.
- By Scott Shuey, Chief Reporter
- Published: 23:56 May 9, 2008
There is a culture clash coming, and something tells me it's going to get nasty.
It's not about music, or how people dress, or even what language they speak. It's is about how people communicate, and when the revolution comes it's going to be those who have embraced Web 2.0 versus those who "just don't get it."
And yes, I'm serious. This isn't just me going off on some weird tangent. The problem is that while Web 2.0 isn't a toy, it is widely seen as a waste colossal of time by many of those who don't use it.
Sure, it can be. Weird YouTube videos and the ubiquitous Vampire vs Werewolf application on Facebook can make it hard to take the technology seriously at times, but the people who think that anyone using a Web 2.0 app is "just playing online" don't see the forest for the trees. The technology is - present tense, not future - changing how people communicate at both home, school and work.
But in a recent conversion, I understood why Web 2.0 in the work place is still being sneered at. During one of my rants about not being able to access Facebook to retrieve messages, somebody asked me, "Why don't the people on Facebook just send you emails instead?"
Easy option
I wanted to say "because no one does it that way anymore," but I didn't. I realise that's not true. A lot of people still use email as the dominant way to communicate online, but that's changing. It's simply easier to communicate with Web 2.0 apps. Over the last year, I have used two social networks, SMS, MMS, three blogs, countless message boards and instant messaging applications, and even a MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game) to keep in contact with friends and colleagues. I even use an online Chess site to keep in contact with an old friend of mine from Chicago. And yes, I still use email - I have no less than four accounts, thank you, not including Facebook and MySpace.
But if I relied solely on email, I'd miss things. Business contacts frequently send me messages via social networks, and many of the stories you've seen in these pages have started as Facebook messages. There are numerous Dubai-based groups on the site, including those for journalists and public relations firms.
Enterprise software
So it's frustrating when people refuse to see Web 2.0 as a productive web tool. OK, the MMORPG is clearly just for fun, but that's not a web application.
Thanks largely to the current generation entering the work force - a generation who never knew a world without the internet - Web 2.0 apps are even entering the stodgy old world of enterprise software. According to Ian Fleming, the regional head of IFS, the company is even beginning to include Web 2.0 features directly into their applications.
SAP has hinted that it is considering the same.
But if you really want to see the value of Web 2.0, read the headlines. Rupert Murdoch purchased My-Space for $580 million. Google paid $1.6 billion for YouTube. Microsoft, a company with more money than some small countries, can't afford to buy its way into the game. Facebook and Yahoo both said no to multi-billion dollar buyout offers.
So the next time you think Web 2.0 is just something that wastes time, think again. This is big business, folks. While it may be difficult, don't assume that just because your coworker is on Facebook he or she is planning a vampire attack on the boss's werewolf. He may actually be getting work done.
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