In my previous post, I talked about the difference between my vision of what the Web should be and the vision of those who came up with Web 2.0. Today, I’m going to talk about how one actually goes about making their website Web 2.0 compliant.

Now, there is one big part of Web 2.0’s vision that matches mine, and that is communication. Although we are doing better, we still have a long ways to go.

I used to send email updates to all my friends and family whenever I learned about some new computer-related technology. Then I realized I was using the Internet incorrectly for something like that. Thus I started my first blog back in 1999. I had no idea what a blog was, and I’d never heard the term before or even seen a real blog before. But realizing that there was a better way to communicate with like-minded individuals, creating a website where everybody could see my latest computer-related postings and contribute their own thoughts on the matter just seemed like the logical thing to do.

Well, better communication and interactivity is a major point of Web 2.0. Set up a blog and you’ve taken a big step toward Web 2.0 compliance. Blogs are a technology that allows you to more easily communicate with others. Discussion boards are another that have been around a long time, but were never really properly used by businesses en masse.

Want to know what your customers are saying about you? Want to know what they wish you would do differently? Provide them with a place to talk about it anonymously and easily. Your customers are far more likely to have a conversation with other consumers online about their frustrations or praise rather than send you a letter in the mail or give you a phone call. Consumers trust each other, and will open up to each other. Opening up to a corporate entity, not so much.

Other ways Web 2.0 compliance can be achieved is with the use of wikis, Ajax, RSS feeds, and so forth. Other technologies that are considered Web 2.0 applications include Flash, any open source software, content management systems (CMS), and similar technologies. Remember, interactivity with the Web community is the key.

But now we get to the real question: how will Web 2.0 help you make more money? Well, this is where the excitement of Web 2.0 wears off. While a lot of Web 2.0 can be useful and helpful to users who visit your site, the real question you should be asking is, “Will it help me make the sale?”

The rules of business haven’t changed because some people got together and wrote up some rules on how they thought the Internet could be made better. Don’t install a wiki just because you have a burning desire to go Web 2.0. If it makes no sense to have a wiki, then don’t implement one. But if having a wiki helps you make the sale, then by all means install one!

For example, if you have a members-only site for hard-core campers, then a members-accessible camping wiki could help you retain members. If you own a pizza parlor, then using Flash technology to create an interactive pizza menu that allows users to click and drag ingredients onto a virtual pizza would probably create some buzz and improve business. If you create new content on a daily basis, then having a blog, CMS, and RSS feeds all make sense. Curious to know what features your customers want on the next version of your widget? Implement a discussion board.

The point here is that you shouldn’t go full-bore Web 2.0 just because it seems to be the “in” thing. Do it because it will help your business, and don’t abandon anything “Web 1.0″ if it’s still working for you.

In the end, there is no hard definition for what, exactly, Web 2.0 even means. As an entrepreneur, you need to be aware of what technologies are available to you, but just forget whether something is Web 2.0 or not and simply focus on those things that you know will have a positive impact for your business.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 5:14 pm and is filed under Web 2.0. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.