Growing Your Business With Web 2.0: New White Paper

For quite a while now I’ve been trying to get a handle on what is covered by “Web 2.0″.

There is of course a Wikipedia entry, but I generally use Wikipedia for quick clues, rather than to read lengthy entries.

I’ve also read Tim O’Reilly’s What is Web 2.0 article of September last year. And other explanations. Until now I wouldn’t have wanted anyone to question me too closely on what Web 2.0 meant to me.

And on a trivial but slightly frustrating note, because I like to be up with received pronunciations, I don’t know whether it’s de riguer to say “two point zero”, “two point oh”, or maybe something else.

Now, for the first time, as a result of reading a white paper, Web 2.0 for Business Advantage, I believe I could answer fairly intelligently, albeit non-technically, some basic questions about Web 2.0 and what it means for business. The white paper has been produced by Kathleen Gilroy, CEO of The Otter Group.

The summary description is:

This forty-page guide explores what is driving the dramatic adoption of Web 2.0 and how you can profit from it. The guide covers key advantages that can be had from smartly deploying Web 2.0: building an online presence; personal information management and the new desktop; and the new collaboration.

Although it’s not a lengthy document, the white paper has plenty of links to enable readers to go deeper on particular aspects or on the whole Web 2.0 phenomenon. As a result of reading the paper I have a better fix on what I already knew at some level and I’ve had my eyes opened to some tools and services I had not known about or had not really figured out a practical business use for.

But a particular feature of the document, and why I’ve started recommending it to others, is that it is written in the first person, by someone who has been on a personal business journey through the various manifestations of Web 2.0. And as well as being a “voice from the trenches”, it is also an account by an experienced educator, who has a special skill in situating the technical details in a broader context of adult learning, communications, networking and business.

You can download an extract at no charge, which comprises the first 13 pages and includes the table of contents. For $9.95 you can download the whole document.

If, like me, you are not a techie and would like some clear explanations, not just of Web 2.0 but of its manifestations such as del.icio.us, OPML, tagging, RSS, folksonomy… you may find this document helpful. If you are a techie and don’t want to spend time explaining to people like me what is obvious to you about Web 2.0, you might like to check out the white paper and see if it is something you could refer others to, so you can get back to whatever you would rather be doing.

One reason for getting hold of the whole document is the case study at the end, where Kathleen reports on a process which did not go smoothly by any means, where she and the processes and technology she was using were seriously challenged and what lessons were learned from that. For anyone introducing Web 2.0 strategies or tools in a business context, those few pages alone are worth, as they say, the price of entry.

Here’s the link again.