Leap-frogging Web 2.0

Most businesses are stuck on Web 1.0. Readers of this newsletter likely are just now dipping a toe in Web 2.0.

Too late. Already, the world of Web 3.0 has launched. Of course, that doesn’t mean there is a definition for this nebulous concept just yet. That would be far too easy for those determined to beat the market.

Most people can agree on a few basic premises:

• -  In Web 1.0, web sites are static. Think online brochures, a.k.a. brochure ware.
• -  In Web 2.0, companies make an attempt to interact with customers. Anyone and everyone can create content, from blogs to distributed videos and more.
• -  Web 3.0 takes yet another giant leap forward – just as most companies are finally setting foot on the 2.0 boat.

So what exactly is Web 3.0? Here are a couple of attempts at a definition:

• -  In Web 3.0, professionals take the lead in shaping content. This idea hints at an improvement in the organisation and depth of ideas, plus a movement away from the constant noise created by low-quality content (all those pesky bloggers who may or may not abandon their site after a few frenzied weeks).
• -  In Web 3.0, businesses will find information from around the Internet and use it to make money. New applications will spring up, and new business models will leverage the community focus of the web.

Sound vague? That’s because this model is still evolving – and will be for several years to come. For one version of the 3.0 future, visit Digital Business, which will be bringing together a team of IT pros to offer opinions and lead discussions.

The transition to Web 3.0 largely depends upon the up-and-coming generation of Digital Natives, who grew up using technology as a natural tool, just as older folks rely upon the spoken word or pen and paper. This Generation V(irtual) understands the power of viral marketing, strategies for quickly generating and distributing content, and concepts that will transform new technologies into money-making propositions.

Older managers and executives have their doubts, since they often complain that today’s youth lacks in work ethic and expects unreasonable compensation for minimal experience. But if these two groups can be brought together – old-school business strategy meets Web 3.0 – the possibilities may just be endless.