As new Internet technologies break into the mainstream, our perceptions about who's in charge have shifted so dramatically the old rules no longer apply. Because these technologies—currently lumped under the banner of "Web 2.0"—have given consumers much more control over content, they are forcing corporations and marketing specialists to adapt. The 4th annual Internet Strategy Forum Summit had one mission: show them how.
The theme of this year's informative and lively event was "Web 2.0: Social Strategies." On July 19, the 325 attendees that gathered at the Portland Governor Hotel included marketing executives, IT professionals and Internet strategists. Most didn't come to learn about RSS feeds, blogs, Twitter, Wikis, Mashups, or Ajax—those ideas were not new to them. They came to hear top executives and technologists from Yahoo! Inc., CNET Networks, IBM, FedEx, Intel, WebTrends, One Economy, and Allyis, among others, share their insights on how to embrace the changes and engage consumers by integrating Web 2.0 technologies into their overall business strategies.
While the concept of Web 2.0 is not simple to define, it's most frequently described as follows:
"...a perceived second-generation of web-based communities and hosted services - such as social-networking sites, wikis and folksonomies— which aim to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users."
The consensus among the Summit presenters was that building platforms for more open user participation has lowered the technical barriers and invited consumers to be co-creators of content. It's given new meaning to Alvin Toffler's term "prosumer," a contraction of "producer" and "consumer." More to the point, with consumers exercising more control, the days of one-way corporate message push are over.
As Mike Moran, Distinguished IBM Engineer and author noted, "Successful marketing now means conversation." And as the number of participants joining the conversation grows, so grows the need to incorporate applications that improve the customer experience.
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