What does Web 2.0 mean to you?

Whether you’ve heard of the term ‘Web 2.0’ or not, if you’ve got a website, you will be affected by it.

In simple terms Web 2.0 is the term given to the current evolvement of internet usage and user expectation.  Some people mistakenly assume it is a technical term; it’s not as such, but it has arisen due to technological advancements. These include the ever growing adoption of broadband and the growth of mobile internet through wireless lap tops and mobile phones. 

So what has really changed on the internet with Web 2.0? Probably the key thing that has changed is that we continually expect more and more from our experiences on the net. We have moved from purely using the internet for information gathering, to using it for engagement and interaction. This is definitely the case with dating sites and social networking sites such as Facebook. Auction sites such as Trade Me are also interactive – not only do you bid for the items, you get to rate others on your experience.

Even when we visit a company website, we now expect less to be preached at, more to be engaged. We expect content to be regularly changed; we expect news to be up to date. Content Management Systems were in the past a ‘nice to have’ or a thing that only the larger organisations could have. Now they are becoming an essential component of owning a website.

Improvements in technology and speed of delivery mean that we now like to be ‘engaged’ by receiving information in different formats. Instead of just text and images, we like sound and video, or direct instant messaging interaction with the site owners. We also like to be able to voice our opinions, rate products and services, add comments etc.

We’ve also become more judgemental when looking at sites. Five or so years back all we expected to see online was a reproduction of a company’s sales brochure. Not every company had a site and we weren’t so used to using search engines. If we were on a company site it was probably because an advert or flyer directed us there. Now, we typically ‘Google’ search for what we want and then have a host of different companies put in front of us offering what we’re looking for. When we enter a site, if we don’t like the look of it (and we make judgements on this very quickly – within 3 – 5 seconds!), that company’s competitors are just one click away!

So web 2.0 and what it means to you. It’s all about meeting modern expectations.  Consider this analogy. You’re selling a new car. It has a good engine, good looks and is well built. Presuming it’s priced right, the car should sell, don’t you agree? But, what if it doesn’t have electric windows, central locking, or even cup holders? What if it has a cassette rather than a CD player? Hardly essential and certainly they won’t diminish the cars ability to get you safely from A to B.  But it’s about expectations - people expect to see these things and if they are not there expectations are not met and the car would struggle to sell.

If you want your investment in a website to pay off for you, make sure it delivers what your audience expect to find and at a standard appropriate to modern internet usage. In short, it needs to be easy to find in the search engines, and enticing enough to make searchers enter. Once in, the marketing message and structure needs to be compelling enough not just to keep them in the site, but to take positive action as a result of their visit. The more you can engage with your visitor the better that will be. 

Our suggestion is to take a good serious look at your website as though you were an outsider to your business. As a first time visitor, would it entice you to do business with your company? If you find this exercise hard to do objectively ask an outsider to help, or even better, an outsider who’s also an expert in 2.0 – perhaps Labyrinth Solutions for example!