Web 2.0: All The Best Opportunities Online Are Social
In a word, Web 2.0 is the name given to the post dot-com boom and bust of Internet growth. It's been impressive, hasn't it? Companies like eBay, PayPal and Amazon.com have proven that business can be conducted on the Web and it can be profitable. Now the rest of us can have our turn.
Internet growth and business management in the post dot-com bust world can be described in one word: Collaboration. If you've been wondering how to tap into this Internet boom you've got to learn how relationships are built online and capitalize on it. There are no lone rangers online.
While collaboration is the key to success in the Web 2.0 world, it helps to know the tools available to you as you embark upon your new venture in cyberspace. Here's a short list:
BlogsContent Management SystemsWikiRSSAffiliate Programs
You can expect this list to grow. The question that is probably on your mind is, "What can I do with these tools?" That's a good question and the answer is, Whatever your imagination unveils. Nevertheless, here are a few tips:
Blogs - If you don't have a blog by now, you're behind the eight ball. Blogs are the first step into Web 2.0. They allow you to start a conversation with your customers, to enter into dialogue with the marketplace. You can update your customers on your business plan, survey or poll your customers to find out what they want and receive feedback from your customers by allowing them to comment on your posts. Of course, you can always have a collaborative blog where more than one blogger makes posts to the blog as several successful and high profile blogs have already done. Example: Church of the Customer.
Content Management Systems (CMS) - A CMS is an easy way for you to manage your website's content. It's almost impossible not to have one in the Web 2.0 market. Unless you are planning to learn programming languages like HTML and Java, or you have the money to hire a full-time webmaster, then you'll benefit from a CMS. There are three ways to go about this, however:
Open SourcePurchase a SystemDesign Your Own
Which of these ways is best for you depends on your goals and circumstances. Just know that a CMS can shave off a lot of time in your marketing and business plans. You can upload content to your website in just a few minutes as opposed to a few hours. This is something you definitely want to learn about. Examples: Joomla and Drupal are two open source content management systems.
Wiki - The ways to use wiki have not been fully explored yet but what you'll need to understand about wiki technology is that it is intrinsically collaborative, unlike HTML. Wiki allows you to build a website without spending time uploading content. This is true collaboration and gets right to the heart of what Web 2.0 is all about. One famous wiki, Wikipedia, allows users to add encyclopedic entries and edit content input by others. This is truly amazing technology.
RSS - Another Web 2.0 technology we couldn't live without is RSS. There are several acceptable meanings to this acronym but the one I prefer is Really Simple Syndication. In essence, if you're not syndicating your content then your content is getting found. Everyone is doing it, or should be. And anything can be syndicated - blogs, articles, Web copy, news, jokes, anything you put on your website. RSS allows your website visitors to subscribe to your content and receive updates automatically every time you change or add to your content. Yahoo! Pipes is the latest RSS tool to appear on the scene and gives users the ability to mash several RSS feeds into one.
Affiliate Programs - It is difficult to fit this one into the Web 2.0 model without a little imagination but it's a powerful tool for building any Web business. An affiliate program allows you to build a sales force that will promote you, your products and your services for you. The great thing about affiliate programs is that you don't have to pay your sales force until they make a sale. You can build a list of business partners, most of whom will become your customers before anyone else even hears about your new products just because they want to try it out first so that they can help promote it and make extra income. Don't overlook this powerful method of building your Web 2.0 business. One of the foremost authorities on affiliate programs is Allan Gardyne at www.associateprograms.com.
Web 2.0 is all about building online relationships and collaborating for maximum growth. To succeed online, you must be willing to shed your lone ranger mentality and develop partnerships. My most successful ventures were a result of joining forces with someone else. I'm confident that yours will be too.
Related Tags: affiliate, rss, blogging, social networking, social media, wiki, content management, web 2.0
Allen Taylor is an award-winning journalist and freelance writer. He operates a full-service content provider for online businesses, a local small business directory in South Central Pennsylvania and Articles.pn, an article directory with social networking tools.
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- MySpace Marketing for Hungry Entrepreneurs
Myspace. The big buzz these days is Myspace. Myspace represents the biggest shift in online user beh - Social Media - The Friendship Advantage
If you've ever heard of Inspector Gadget then you know this detective had access to several personal - An Introduction to Squidoo
One of the hottest sites to come out of the Web 2.0 phenomenon is Squidoo. If you are not building s - Promoting Your Dating Website
Here are some tips on promoting your online dating siteAim locallyDating sites work when people can - 3 Key Steps to Get Started With Social Bookmarking
Social bookmarking is a great way to become a part of great communications and information network. - Advanced Ways to Make a Profit With Social Media
While you may know some basic facts about how to use social media content online to help boost traff - How To Excel At Social Networking
With the incredible rise of ecommerce in recent years, there has been a major push for people to fin - Intermediate Tips Generating Traffic With MySpace
MySpace, a social networking service can greatly aid you in generating traffic to your website. Many - Intermediate Ways to Make a Profit With Generating Traffic With Squidoo
Squidoo is a web hosting site that has been designed in order to make it easy for anyone who wants t - Profitable Social Networking - Effective Ways for Social Networking
Are you so tired of handing people your calling card, without getting any results? Online social net
Most viewed articles in this category:
- What Can You Get in Social Bookmarking?
Social bookmarking has been in existence for a long period of time now. People continuously discover - Social Media - The Friendship Advantage
If you've ever heard of Inspector Gadget then you know this detective had access to several personal - An Introduction to Squidoo
One of the hottest sites to come out of the Web 2.0 phenomenon is Squidoo. If you are not building s - Web 2.0 and the Future of the Internet
According to Wikipedia Web 2.0 is "a perceived second-generation of Web-based services-such as socia - Intermediate Tips Generating Traffic With MySpace
MySpace, a social networking service can greatly aid you in generating traffic to your website. Many - Social Media - Can Internet Marketers Make Money Here?
Understanding and knowing the depth of knowledge that goes into marketing is such an interesting top - Online Marketing Through Social Networking Sites (Part 2)
In part 1 of this series on social networking sites, I introduced the concept of social networking s - Promoting Your Dating Website
Here are some tips on promoting your online dating siteAim locallyDating sites work when people can - How the Internet Makes Us Anonymous
Sure, this is no big secret. The very design of the Internet allows us to connect with people in far - Searching for People Online
Do you actively use Myspace, Yahoo personals or any other service, such as friendster or something o