Christopher Carfi published a WWWWH guide to “business-driven Web 2.0 efforts” today.
I like what he says about who Web 2.0 is for–the people!
Web 2.0 is about people. Period. Who are the people involved? Who will be the primary contributors to the effort? What are their backgrounds? Who are they as people? In addition, who are the other people who will be interacting with the environment, even if they don’t initially contribute? In a blog, the ratio of commenters-to-posters is large; the ratio of readers-to-commenters is astronomical. What’s in it for each of those constituencies? Does the environment support them and provide what they need? What value does each group derive from it?
Similarly, in a social network, there are typically a handful of “power” users, a slightly larger group of sometimes-contributors, and a huge group of people who may only be observing. (Members of this last group are commonly referred to as “lurkers.) What’s in it for them?
Whatever part of the agency business you’re in these days, the buzz word Web 2.0 will be bandied about in meetings. Count on it. Inquiring clients want to know.