Thursday, May 8, 2008

Web 2.0. It’s Good Old Fashioned Business

A business-savvy friend asked me to explain Web 2.0. For background, this friend has built several businesses, taken disruptive new technologies to market, and has now established a thriving consultancy in Washington DC. He knows more about the psychology and the nuts and bolts of a business transaction than 99.9 percent of the people at the Web 2.0 conference last week. But he knew he needed to begin to understand how to use Web 2.0 for the future of his business. I sent him the usual reading and a link to O’rielly’s “What is Web 2.0” page. But more importantly, I emailed him this short “Old vs New” list I leaned from Greg Syverson over at Grunt Media:

Old: Brand protection. New: Brand adoption.
Old: Credibility. New: Street cred.
Old: Corporate filter. New: Personal voice.
Old: Serious and square. New: Casual and real.
Old: Everything is just great. New: Everything is cool.

My friend quickly realized that Web 2.0 didn’t negate any of his accumulated knowledge, it simply embraced and extended the way he built his businesses in the first place, with honesty and personal relationships.

1 comment:

Pete said...

Jeff, the guy you mention in DC sounds like a good contact. Please let me know how to find him! Cheers