Everyone is talking Social Media, but what about companies with a more traditional profile? What are the true ramifications of web 2.0 technologies and modes of thinking to “traditional” clients? What are the avenues for innovation? What opportunities exist using the social web, and web 2.0 technologies this year?

TNG built a presentation that outlines some of the major themes that come up as part of a Web 2.0 discussion, which became a discussion of opportunity.  

Section 1:  Modes of Social Interaction Over Time

The Village:

In the early stages of culture, the village market was the focus of trade and social interaction. The market was an open system, guided by culture, and constrained geographically. Face to face interaction required a high degree of accountability, and the quality of a product was directly associated with a producer. There was a high degree of market visibility, as everything could be seen across the market space. A new caravan entering with news or products would have an effect on price and on the social activity within the space.

The Messenger:

As technology for travel increased (navigation, ship building etc.) the market for information and trade becomes less geographically constrained. Its possible to interact with people that one doesn’t know, through the messenger. Infrastructure for doing this trade becomes held by fewer parties, and the kind of market awareness in the Village becomes impossible, as geography strains the boundaries of communication. There is a high degree of trust necessary,  as one might wait a year to get information or value back from certain locations.

The Producer:

The Industrial age brought a new form of information sharing, as the ability to broadcast messages and value became industrialized. The infrastructure to broadcast is concentrated in the hands of a few, and information and value travels one way, from the producer, to a mass of consumers. Brand became abstracted from value to help consumers distinguish among competing ideas and products. The producers have little contact with consumers: (Henry Ford didn’t personally know most of the people who bought his cars, nor did Hearst know who read his papers)

The Aggregator:

The Internet begins to influence mass communication, and ideas and information begin to be aggregated. 24 hour network news, portal websites all begin to repeat ideas instead of generate original ones. The infrastructure to aggregate is still held by a few, but with greatly increased sharing and commenting by consumers, these media outlets begin to respond to, and cater to user-generated opinions. Economics drive production overseas, and aggregators like WalMart bring vast power to the marketplace, influencing product development and price points.

The Integrated Marketplace:

We reach a point in the present where the influence of the web has arguably outstripped mass media. Traditional media outlets are searching for viable business models, as consumers and producers become one in the same. Blogs, Twitter, self-publishing of books and media all compete for attention. We trade online, sending each other value via PayPal, and Etsy.com has made producers of us all.

We have come full circle, as the model is identical to the Village, except for the geographical constraints.

Aberration?

Looking at this model, it becomes possible to pose the questions:

• Was the industrial age of communication an aberration?
• Did the advent of technology for distribution, making newspapers and broadcast the norm, distort the communication landscape for a period of time?
• Are we back to a new “normal”?
• What does the future hold for companies who are in the business of manufacturing and distribution of ideas and objects?

Section 2:  Opportunities in Web 2.0

Opportunities abound within the web 2.0 environment for those who are willing to study and extract the basic principles that Web 2.0 supports. The second section of the presentation is an investigation into these concepts, and some case studies, looking into how groups have leveraged these principles to drive business value and monetization.

Web 2.0 is the nickname for a collection of technologies and thought processes that support these major aspects of interaction:

• The web as a platform for
  • delivery of business functionality
  • development
  • internal workflow and logistics
  • monetization
• User-participation
  • Community
  • Syndication
  • Collaboration
  • Sharing/Mashups

• Flexibility: Anytime/Anywhere
  • Interoperability
  • Portability
  • Rich Media Applications

We round out the presentation with some high-level studies of notable business models within the industry:

Case Studies:

• Amazon vs Netflix – evolving business categories and infrastructure as a profit model
• The iPhone – a rich ecosystem for user experience and monetization
• YouTube vs Hulu – we’re still doing it wrong: the broadcast model
• Google AdWords, iTunes and AppStore – revolutionary on-demand delivery platforms for commerce

–Tom Bennett @tom_bennett  is a 20 year Digital Marketing Veteran working as a Digital Strategist at The New Group, a Portland OR based Digital Marketing Agency.  More on Tom

Stay Tuned.