Web 2.0 and Beyond: Understanding the New Online Business Models, Trends, and Technologies
By (Author) Tom Funk
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Praeger Publishers Inc
1st December 2008
United States
Professional and Scholarly
Non Fiction
658.872
Winner of Outstanding Academic Title, 2009 2010 (United States)
Hardback
192
Web 2.0 has taken on buzzword status. It's now shorthand for everything that is new, cutting-edge, and gaining momentum online. Web 2.0 can describe particular Web sites; cultural trends like social networking, blogging, or podcasting; or the underlying technology that makes today's coolest Web applications possible. Many Web 2.0 innovations were pioneered by behemoths like Google, Amazon, Apple, YouTube, and MySpace. But even the smallest, leanest companies can take advantage of the new trends, new and open-source programming tools, and new networks. This book presents a wealth of ideas that will enable any business to quickly and affordably deploy Web 2.0 best practices to gain customers and maximize profits. Web 2.0 is more a series of trends than a basket of things: More and more, power is in the hands of individual users and their networks. Web content is distributed, sorted, combined, and displayed across the Web in formats and places not anticipated by the content creators. New technology now makes rich online experiences and complex software applications possible, and at a low cost. Integration is breaking down walls between PCs and mobile devices. Web 2.0 is a landscape in which users control their online experience and influence the experiences of others. Business success on the Web, therefore, now comes from harnessing the power of social networks, computing networks, media and opinion networks, and advertising networks. Web 2.0 takes advantage of higher bandwidth and lighter-weight programming tools to create rich, engaging online experiences that compete with television and other offline activities. With examples and case studies from real businesses, this book demonstrates what makes a successful Web 2.0 company, regardless of its size or resources. A non-technical guide, it is aimed squarely at the marketer or business manager who wants to understand recent developments in the online world, and to turn them into practical, competitive advantages.
Funk outlines the latest emerging technologies on the Web, and offers readers the Ten Things You Should Do to Make Your Business More Web 2.0. This highly accessible guide provides the latest information on the most popular activities on the Web; new ways to market, attract customers, and keep your Website vibrant; and ways to protect yourself form the growing menace of cybercrime. * Booklist *
This valuable compendium organizes, evaluates, and places into context online business models, trends, and technologies. It considers where the Web has been and where it is going, with implications of these developments for business. The new generation, Web 2.0, is characterized by a shift to individual users who are now able to customize their Web experience and engage in social communication networks, leading to an integrative experience unimagined in the first, more static iteration of Web-based technologies. Funk, a Web publishing practitioner, traces these complex developments with great clarity, utilizing simple, concise language to frame the discussion. Useful case studies illustrate the potential as the Web evolves in serving customers and creating new business opportunities. The author also traces developments to the Web 3.0 environment. This well-organized and well-written work is essential for anyone interested in the Web and its development, particularly as it relates to the business world. Essential. General readers, all levels of students, faculty, and practitioners. * Choice *
Librarians will find insight in Funk's analyses of the possibilities of 2.0 (and even 3.0). . . . his book should inspire ideas for better representing our resources to our patrons. Lively discussions of what else we can do to market our libraries will be sparked by his many examples of successful business models. . . . heartily recommended to academic librarians. * Catholic Library World *
Tom Funk has been involved in ecommerce and Web publishing since 1995. In his six years managing the Web sites of the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, Funk saw online revenues triple, and the company's sites were named to Internet Retailer's Best of the Web Top 50. Funk is currently VP of Client Services for Timberline Interactive, a Web development and online marketing consultancy.