Web 2.0 definition: a set of social, economic, and technology trends that collectively form the basis for the next generation of the Internet – a more mature, distinct medium characterized by user participation, openness, and network effects:–definition source: O’Reilly Radar, Web 2.0 Principles and Best Practices Let’s first identify major social, economic, and technology trends that contributed to this transformation of the Internet.
Social Trends:
Idea Generation and Sharing – teaching your associate in a non-competing market (across the country) how to create additional business in his local marketplace, improve the efficiency and economic environment of your industry through idea sharing Example: Message Boards (DentalTown.com), Blogs (DentalBlogs.com), E-mail Networks (Acesthetics E-mail Group)
Business Networking – ability to meet and present information to people located in remote areas around the country and world Example: GoToMyMeeting, WebEx
Social Interactivity – ability to meet and learn about people through personal profile and communication techniques Example: MySpace.com, Friendster.com, LinkedIn.com
Economic Trends:
Industry Consolidation – Increasing consolidation of information suppliers and network providers has allowed for increased information distribution efficiency Example: Acquisition of Time Warner by America Online, Acquisition of Scientific Atlanta by Cisco Networks, A T and T joins BellSouth
Technology Trends:
Increase In Technology Adoption - High Speed Usage Increasing in Business (office place) and Consumer (home) Markets. Increasing broadband speeds has led to the consumers’ rapid adoption of multimedia (Audio & Video) usage online. 68% of U.S. online users now use broadband (February ’06, Neilsen/NetRatings).
Where the Web is going:
Web 2.0 is opening up the online market, as the networking environment opens up public idea generation and publishing has become very simple. Organization and globalization of the Internet’s information is beginning to take form at the hands of user interactivity. One major tool pushing the boundaries of online publishing simplicity are application serving sites.
Application Serving Sites & Their Position in the Marketplace
Application serving sites are websites that create a platform for users to contribute data and information. Actual sites are beginning to work as user software creating an environment for user’s to create, post, and edit information. Active and updated information on the Internet creates greater relevancy for a dataset of content.
The Way an Application Serving Site Functions for a User:
Step 1: Login site and create content Step 2: Publish content to the web Step 3: Consumers and search engines read and index content
An application serving website sets up structure and guidelines for a user to create a login (identifying the user), profile information (creating demographic data for the network), and then the means to publish additional information satisfying the niche in which the user would like to participate in publishing their information (audio, content, video, and other forms of information).
There are many niche market websites being created to serve niche markets of the Internet’s long tail. If you examine your search engine results, search engines are giving bias to websites that are destinations for people to publish information on the Internet. In Google in particular they are pulling numerous listing results from various sites like Craigslist, MySpace, Yahoo Directory, YouTube, Blogs, and other places people create self published and/or manually organized information. This behavior by the search engines shows the dependence of a more relevant Internet on dynamic information being posted at reliable destination websites.
These application serving websites create social grouping networks allowing for the free exchange of data that is relevant and similar to other existing data on the network. Some networks will even suggest similar groupings to peak a user’s interest.
Search Engine Information Seeking – Hierarchy (Chart 2)
Search engines seek information as follows and index from directory sites, social networking sites, and blogs.
The dynamic capabilities of websites that are programmed and published by web users is allowing search engines to garner updated, organized, and refreshed information at an increased frequency. This information is setup to be preprogrammed into categories making it easier to satisfy a search engines relevancy organization desires. Presorted information receives favored ranking and recognition from the major search engines.
How is this so?
As search engines have grown to find successful business models where they can generate increasing operating revenues, they have invested heavily into the complexity of their vast computer infrastructures. Many of the search engines are programming their computer infrastructure to create a system that can potentially react as fast as the human brain as to its reflex of identifying and organization new information on the Internet. The quicker information can move across the computer networks (synapse) from one computer to another the quicker the web will be able to grow. For example, Google has recruited one of the world’s top neurologists to program the complexity of their search computer systems. Below is a chart to visualize how data flows along the search engine web.
Search Engine Data Seeking Flow:
Website > Crawler reads site > Search > Search Query > Search Engine Asks Database > Search Results Display > Search Results Clicked > Website
Search engines are exactly what they call themselves, search engines. The question is: what are the search engines searching for?
Many things they may be searching for include: Who is linking to your site? What is on your site? Where is your site listed? When your site was last visited? Why are people visiting your site? How many people visit your site?
The thought application being used to organize search results by various search engines: Who is the searcher searching for the information? Are they doing it looking for common information? What type of information are they searchers looking for related to certain topics? Is the website information relevant to the extension of a domain name? When was the last time a site was updated or visited?
As search engines continue to increase in complexity so will the rewards associated with being found on the search engine results.
Integrating Your Media Mix to Your Online Presence
Now that we have established the dynamics of the search engines and computer applications feeing them the question is how to integrate your various media into an overall Internet presence. If your office uses multiple media to market (audio, newsletter, video, and more) you can synergize your data for a more concrete marketing message through an overall well organized and strategize web presence. Another added benefit to getting your marketing material exposure on the Internet is that consumers will become increasingly interactive with your brand and may give you feedback as to how they feel about your media and marketing. You can then interpret the data as you please and use it increase the consumer friendliness of your data.
The effects of Web 2.0, the interactive web, allow you to distribute your information rapidly and very cost effectively. More is better in this market, and your distribution costs are very low for online compared to traditional media.
Many people look at old media as a very effective medium for marketing which it is, but new media allows you to create a greater dimension of your marketing campaign and a destination to pull a visitor in. An effective strategy to using your old media to integrate with your new media is to use a catchphrase like:
Visit our website to see the beautiful work we have performed on our patients
Visit our website to learn additional information about our services
Visit our website to see a video of what to expect when you come to our office for a consultation
The list goes on as to catchphrases you can use to draw visitors into your online presence, be sure to integrate old media marketing into what your website has to offer consumers. Once you get a visitor to your website you have achieved half the battle now you need to seal the deal and turn your website visitor into an office visitor.
Zach Hoffman is interested in helping people.To learn more about web 2.0, internet marketing strategies, social networking visit: www.seo.cc
