Web 2.0

According to the Business Standard and research firm IDC, the majority of Indian Web 2.0 sites have no real business model and are struggling for both revenues and investments:

It’s a shiny, new dance floor, but how many can dance? The Web 2.0 market in India is still struggling for direction and funding, though the start-up scene in the Indian consumer space has been vibrant. Yet, the number of Web 2.0 companies focused on the enterprise or business space can be counted on one’s fingers.

A majority of players are active in areas like social networking sites (SNS), blogging, and document and multimedia sharing in the consumer space. A mere 12 of the 67 India-focused websites studied by research firm IDC have a clear enterprise or business-driven model to their operations, while 55 have a consumer focus.

Interesting article given the shear hype around the Web 2.0 phenomenon. Food for thought. The reality is that Web 2.0 technologies will become an integral part of doing business on the Web and only a few sites dedicated to exploiting the phenomenon as one will survive. Good luck!

Read the full article here.

Web 2.0 seems to be the new holy grail for all entrepreneurs and marketers, and while many experts sing its praises, an equal number do predict its demise into enterprise ether. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in-between. But one business area where Web 2.0 certainly has had a major impact is in branding and marketing. This cannot be denied.

Web 2.0 is a broad term that covers all aspects of Web usage or technologies that facilitate collaboration, sharing, online conversations, user-generated content or social networking of some kind. For example, there are over 10 million blogs today and no matter what area of business you are in, someone has probably created a blog about it and someone else is actually reading that blog. (Blog stands for Web Log or Journal or Site that a Web user creates themselves on any subject of their choosing.)

As a brand builder or marketer, ignoring Web 2.0 is ignoring some of the best tools you can find in managing your 360 degree (touching every touch point in your marketing matrix with an appropriate relationship) marketing strategy and your reputation online. Understanding your customer’s buying habits and interests, mapping current trends, getting free feedback and reviews, testing out new concepts on focus groups for free, managing your brand’s reputation through proper message management, distributing viral messages and ideas quickly – what else can a marketer ask for. This is the promise of Web 2.0. However, remember – the opposite can hold true as well – so use these tools carefully. Here are some ideas to help you along: Read the rest of this entry »