We are regularly asked about WEB 2.0 and user generated content models by our customers. Where does WEB 2.0 fit into their web strategy? How can blogging or social media be included in their site? What are the issues or risks? With all of these questions come some basic tenets that you must consider when looking towards the user generated content revolution. In this article we will explain the common technologies available to implement a WEB 2.0 environment and in future articles we will address the individual considerations and issues with the different types of WEB 2.0 components.
What technologies could you utilise?
There are 3 primary technologies that companies initially consider when looking at their first involvement in WEB 2.0. Each provides a different and unique service and each has its own considerations.
Blogs
A blog is simply a reverse chronological list of items of interest, be these comment, details of events, product information or video and diary style entries. This article is a blog entry. A blog is typically maintained by an individual or a single organisation and often allows other to comment on the individual articles and items. Many blogs can also be consumed as Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds.
Discussion Forums
A discussion forum, or forum, is a series of threaded ‘conversations’ normally arranged into categories that keep common subjects together. Forums, by their very nature, have contributions from multiple users and are often used to discuss or support products and services. A contributing user will typically be required to register with an email address and some form of user name or screen name. Most forums go to some lengths to disassociate themselves with the submissions of their members to ensure that any legally questionable postings cannot be associated with the hosting body.
Wiki
A Wiki is a collection of interlinked web pages that allow a collaborative group to contribute and edit the content. A wiki provide a simplified mark-up language that means contributing users do not have to have a technical knowledge of HTML or web development. Possibly the most well known example of a wiki is Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org), however many organisations use wiki’s on intranets and extranets as support or knowledge management systems. The essential concepts of a wiki, as explained by its creator Ward Cunningham, are:
- All users are invited to edit and contribute to the content of the wiki using nothing more than a web browser.
- The wiki encourages meaningful associations between topics by making the creation of inter page links easy and intuitive.
- A wiki is not a static or carefully structured website but a constantly changing and evolving site driven forward by its users acting as contributors and editors.
Many wiki sites do not require validation of the entries made by contributors but rely on peer review and 'self policing' to validate the accuracy its content.
Social Networking Service
A social networking service, or social network, is typically a service that focuses on building online communities with common interests and who wish to share and exchange experiences with likeminded individuals. Popular and well know social networking services include Facebook (http://www.facebook.com), MySpace (http://www.myspace.com) and Bebo (http://www.bebo.com), however many businesses have chosen to create specialised communities utilising social networking technologies. These communities may cover specific interests or groups and may be global or limited to a smaller geographic area. An example would be the American site MomSpace (http://www.momspace.com). These business sites are often funded by click based advertising specific to the interest group they represent.