Managing beyond Web 2.0

Companies should prepare now for the day when Web 2.0 morphs into Web 3.0.

McKinsey Quarterly, July 31, 2009 — It’s hardly news that the Internet has evolved into the primary vehicle for communication, information, and commerce. But in a surprising twist, today’s online customers—as both producers and consumers of their own content and services—ferociously guard their online experiences. This trend, which goes far beyond Web buzz, is catching some executives by surprise and making others more than a bit worried.

Why Are the Most Creative People in Business Skipping Out on Web 2.0

Fast Company, May 27, 2009 — These days, we’re all public figures. We’re sharing our friends on Facebook, our photos on Flickr, our music on Last.fm, and our goofy links insightful observations on Twitter. So when Fast Company set out to capture the personalities of our 100 Most Creative People in Business, we started — where else? — by looking for online profiles

Why Innovation Could Not Save Nortel

Promises and buzzwords could not save the troubled telecom equipment maker from sagging demand for phone gear and a $4.5 billion debt load

BusinessWeek, January 14, 2009 — Two years ago managers of Nortel Networks (NT) unveiled a risky wager to transform the troubled telecom equipment maker through innovation and design. Their agenda included modernizing research and development, creating so-called future-proof gear, and experimenting with emerging technologies ranging form virtual worlds to Web 2.0. "We're not tweaking; we're turning Nortel on its head," John Roese, Nortel's chief technology officer, said last August, describing the changes underway.

The New Focus Group: The Collective

Forget about return on investment. Companies need to think about getting return on insight

BusinessWeek, January 7, 2009 — There's probably no better time for an organization to ask the question, "What's the return on investment?" Given the economic uncertainty, it's an understandable instinct.

The problem is, traditional ROI, with its focus groups and lab-type settings, is less relevant in a fast-paced digital world. Hyperfocusing on ROI as a key indicator of future success limits the quality of insights that can be obtained when an initiative is launched in a real environment. In the real world, a "mass audience" doesn't really exist (this is especially true on the Web) and brands that deal in niches are rewarded. In the real world, the collective is the focus group.

The Secrets of Marketing in a Web 2.0 World†

Consumers are flocking to blogs, social-networking sites and virtual worlds. And they are leaving a lot of marketers behind.

Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2008 — For marketers, Web 2.0 offers a remarkable new opportunity to engage consumers.

If only they knew how to do it.

That's where this article aims to help. We interviewed more than 30 executives and managers in both large and small organizations that are at the forefront of experimenting with Web 2.0 tools. From those conversations and further research, we identified a set of emerging principles for marketing.

The Secrets of Marketing in a Web 2.0 World†

Consumers are flocking to blogs, social-networking sites and virtual worlds. And they are leaving a lot of marketers behind.

Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2008 — For marketers, Web 2.0 offers a remarkable new opportunity to engage consumers.

If only they knew how to do it.

That's where this article aims to help. We interviewed more than 30 executives and managers in both large and small organizations that are at the forefront of experimenting with Web 2.0 tools. From those conversations and further research, we identified a set of emerging principles for marketing.

Advertisers Face Hurdles on Social Networking Sites

New York Times, December 13, 2008 — FOR some time, Procter & Gamble, the world’s largest advertiser, has been dipping its big toes into the vast pool of Facebook, now the world’s largest social network. I recently knocked on the doors of both companies to hear how the experiment was going. Neither was inclined to say much.

Independent experts on Web advertising have been watching, however, and what they see is a myriad of difficulties in making brand advertising work on social networking sites. Members of social networks want to spend time with friends, not brands.

Web 2.0 Gets Big — and Corporate

New York Times, November 10, 2008 — As the economy totters, it’s easy to make fun of the concept of “Web 2.0” — the rallying cry of a generation of chipper start-ups spawned over the last few years with an unusual aversion to vowels. Certainly, most of the venture capitalists I’ve talked to at the Web 2.0 Summit have said they are shying away from companies that are based on the idea of growing an audience now and figuring out how to make money later.

Why Pharma Fears Social Networking†

Brandweek, October 19, 2008 — Although a majority of marketers have embraced online social media and user-generated content efforts, one industry is conspicuously not taking advantage of the gold rush: pharmaceuticals.

The reason: Marketers fear that user-generated content will include complaints about injuries caused by their drugs’ side effects. The law requires these “adverse events” to be reported to the FDA. The FDA’s adverse-event databases are regularly combed by lawyers looking for potential class-action suits.

Thus, drug marketers have stuck with a decidedly Web 1.0 model, in which customer interaction is kept to an absolute minimum.

This head-in-the-sand approach may be about to change. A debate is raging in the drug business as to whether companies should adopt... continue reading

Woman to Woman, Online

New York Times, August 14, 2008 — Heather Armstrong’s wickedly funny blog about motherhood, Dooce, is more than just an outlet for the creativity and frustrations of a modern mother. The site, chock full of advertising, is a moneymaking machine — so much so that Ms. Armstrong and her husband have both quit their regular jobs.