Web2.0 and What it Means for Business

Web 2.0 and what it means for business Rich Miller Research Scientist LexisNexis New Technology Research RE Web 2.0+ Working Group September 27, 2007

Background and Focus
Background
Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology (1988)
with intention to go into software industry
Human Factors and UI design
AT&T Communications (1985-1991)
LexisNexis (1991-1999)
Structural Dynamics (1999-2000)
Research Scientist
LexisNexis (2000-)
Recent Focus
User experience, HCI, advanced UIs
Web 2.0 and computing trends
Visualization
Rich Media

Relative value of dinner vs. talk

If I give a $4 talk, will you be more satisfied with the Chef’s choice?

What is web2.0, anyway??
A collection of new technologies and approaches
Network as platform
Continually-updated software and services
A change in behavior more than technology
The “read/write” web
The “you” era
The web 2.0 video describes it well
Supermarket 2.0 not quite as good
It’s just the web – the newer parts

The web 2.0 tag cloud From wikipedia

Web 2.0 visualized

Web 2.0 is the web evolved

Web 2.0 site/application types
Knowledge sources – wikipedia, GoogleMaps, del.ico.us, technorati
Tools and Office suites - google, thinkfree, zoho, zimbra, writely
Collaboration - socialtext , basecamp , Lotus Connections
Dashboards/homes/portals - netvibes , google, ms live / spaces
Places to put your stuff (PKB) – box.net , gmail, basecamp, flickr, S3
Integrators and Organizers – get your stuff together and connect it to other people’s stuff – del.ico.us, blummy , pocketmod , rememberthemilk , lastfm , lala ,
Clubs and networks – myspace, facebook, linkedIn , lastfm
Blogs and self-expression platforms - technorati , youtube , jumpcut , digg , or any site that promises 15 minutes of fame
TV-replacements and other less-useful offerings
blogs that interest only the author
advertisements disguised as something else
anything that my kids are using for superflous communicaton with their friends – (meebo, myspace, xanga)

Web 2.0 behaviors
Consume
Asking questions
Looking it up
Monitoring, counting and organizing
Create
Expressing oneself - as yourself or your cyberself
Creating and remixing
Self-improving
Connect
Sharing
Discussing
Pontificating

The web2.0 triangle create consume connect/share As applications mature, they move toward the middle, e.g. GoogleMaps adding mymaps

Web Trends 2007

Who is participating in web 2.0?
By now, every user by now has participated in some form
Web 2.0 approaches are permeating the web
Huge growth of participatory web sites
668% increase in last 2 years
Now account for 12% of the web!
Not just for youngsters
Wikipedia:18-34 tend to consume what 35-55+ produce
Youtube: 18-24 less likely to upload than are older users
Participation is viral (like viral marketing)
Example: RE Revolve blog site
Usage patterns continue to emerge
e.g. top 3 Youtube users (source: Hitwise / Claritas )
Young Digerati
Money and Brains
Bohemian Mix

How web 2.0 is changing the user experience
Networked applications provide more context and continuity – apps depend on one another
AJAX-enabled interactions
Staying in place
Preservation of task flow
Rich internet applications (RIAs) are emerging, displacing the page metaphor
Powerful, smoother, visually-stable applications
Animation provides more engaging experience
Line between desktop and online blurring
For the “occasionally connected”
Users want more applications online
Metadata-driven navigation
Tagging and faceted browse (e.g. TotalSearch)
Applications are now increasingly visual

Brave New World of online communities The “participatory web” is now 12% of the web itself Where’s LinkedIn? Is there such a thing as “web2.0 participatory hangover?”

The web 2.0 social conundrum #1
The pressure to make friends
My last.fm social network:
Nathan A. W. from Canada Elin from Sweden me < friends nearest neighbors > My daughter buddy from cinci Dayton campus buddy

The web 2.0 social conundrum #2
Wondering if they will pay attention and like it
Reactions to my youtube video :
friend stranger daughter friend 7 people rated it 3 actually linked to it! approaching 1000 views Now 8 ratings, 1100+ views, 5 links, and 16 favorites

new sites appear every day, e.g…. Q: What does this have to do with anything? A: It demonstrates the “lowering barrier of entry”

The lowering barrier of entry
The barrier of entry for competing on the web is approaching zero
Anyone wanting to start a web-based business can do so with very little startup costs
Hosting services are getting ridiculously cheap and it’s not just space you are getting for your money
tons of tools come along with the space

Now how much would you pay?

Ridiculously cheap hosting services It can get as cheap as $4 !

What does it mean for business?
Web 2.0 is raising the bar of user expectations
Users bring life experiences into the workplace
Better applications are being created at an increasingly faster rate
To compete, traditional businesses must selectively embrace the more nimble approaches
Prepare to face difficult tradeoffs
Strategy must include…
How to leverage the participatory nature of the web behind the firewall
How to leverage the “free web” without compromising quality, security, and profit making
Overall, fostering a web 2.0 mentality
e.g, Can’t beat em, join em

Using analytics to guide decision-making Required reading for New Technology Research staff Formula for success = leverage the web + be more nimble + use analytics-driven decision-making process? See also: pre-book article

RE Web 2.0 projects and products
LexisNexis
Patents and sentiment analysis applications offering “rich user interfaces” and charting/visualization
Several projects in the works around social computing
Elsevier
Engineering Village – for patents researchers
Scopus
2collab – beta offering collaboration tools for researcher
del.icio.us-like interface includes bookmarks, tags, user-groups, and comments.
Plans for rich internet applications
Reed Business Information
Hotfrog – self-publishing business directory

What does it mean for UX?
The best UIs are coming out of web 2.0
e.g. Google Maps, flickr, del.ico.us, etc.
Designers should live the web2.0 life
Go ahead, it’s fun!
The designer’s toolbox is being greatly expanded to include many more options
e.g. AJAX enables a whole set of new interactions
Tools are becoming easier to use
Designers can get closer to implementation

6 themes of designer role change
See article: Web 2.0 for Designers
Writing semantic markup
transition to XML)
Providing Web services
moving away from place)
Remixing content
about when and what, not who or why)
Emergent navigation and relevance
users are in control)
Adding metadata over time
communities building social information)
Shift to programming
separation of structure and style)
#7 candidate? – design for placelessness or ubiquitous computing

Task- oriented UIs (3)
The interface changes slightly
to let you focus on likely tasks
From tutorial by trulia

Task- oriented UIs (4)
The interface guides you along a list of tasks

Task-focused UI example: lala

Task-focused UIs at work (4)

Task-focused UIs at work (6) From tutorial by trulia

Task-focused UIs at work (12)

Remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Companies that best satisfy human needs will win
but don’t skip the more basic needs – e.g. security
See Rolf Skyberg (ebay) presentation Blogs, LinkedIn, Youtube MySpace, wikis 4-hour work week Privacy, Vidoop

The 7 original web 2.0 “memes”
Rich User Experiences
Harnessing Collective Intelligence
The Web as Platform
End of the Software Release Cycle
Lightweight Software and Business Models
Software Above the Level of a Single Device
Data as the next “Intel Inside”

Rich user experiences #1
Definition and importance
More engaging, interactive applications through leveraging improved capabilities of the web
A more “desktop-like” experience – drag/drop, highly interactive, smooth morphing of display
Rich components can be embedded in HTML pages
Related concepts, technologies and issues
Transcending the page metaphor
Visually disruptive
Rich Internet Applications ( RIAs )
AJAX and eliminating page-refresh delays
Stability of “place” and preservation of “flow”
Adobe Flash/Flex/Apollo and MS Silverlight (WPF/E)
Widgets and components – widgetbox.com
Charting, visualization, and animation

Examples
Google – Gmail/Office, Google Finance
EditGrid , Thinkfree , ZOHO, office apps
Backbase , Wrike PIMs
Sales bubble chart (visual i/o)
Flex Store (Adobe)
LN TotalPatent
Amazon book browser
What it means
People like them
Broader canvas/toolset for design
Break out of page metaphor, but seek optimal combinations of HTML + RIAs
Option for more types of richer interactions
Stability of “place” and preservation of “flow”
Keep issues in mind:
link structure, usage analytics, lack of GUI standards
Rich user experiences #2

Rich Internet Applications (2)
 Apparent performance gains
Smaller chunks of the page load faster than the whole page

Rich Internet Applications (3)
 Instant feedback: minimized reloads

Harnessing collective intelligence #1
The most important, defining meme of web 2.0
Empowering user community to contribute its intelligence
… using links, user-provided content, and comments on content
Leads to software that “makes itself smarter the more people use it”
Generating information from “the wisdom of the masses”
Majority of people sharing common experience tend to be better than experts
Related concepts, technologies and issues
collaboration
user-generated content
“ network effects”
“ database of intentions” and “architecture of participation”
the long tail
blogs and wikis
tags and folksonomies

Examples
Wikipedia
de.lici.ous and Flickr
MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn
Amazon tags / Yahoo myweb
Elsevier Engineering Village & RBI Hotfrog
What it means
Consider how user contributions might enhance new or existing applications
Anticipate a new set of interactions
Tagging, uploading, commenting, navigating via user-generated data
Look for opportunities to
Harness intelligence behind the firewall
Use “free web” intelligence to enhance “subscription web” applications
Harnessing collective intelligence #2

Architecture of Participation Slide: Dion Hinchcliffe

Web as platform #1
Building apps on top of web resources
The place where our software and data is moving to
Products and services of all types are increasingly connected to the web
Related concepts, technologies, issues
Web services – e.g. amazon S3
Mashups, remixability
Open APIs

Web as platform #2
Examples
Yahoo Pipes blog
FlashEarth mashup
Youtube video embedding
Amazon S3
What it means
Think bigger
New aspect of design is how to leverage and integrate networked resources
How do opportunities change when your product requires authentication for access?
Learn about and play with APIs and web services

End of the Software Release Cycle #1
A departure from traditional, discrete release cycles in favor of gradual rollout and improvement of applications
The “perpetual beta” has been enabled by the web and SaaS (software as a service)
Software as a Service
Constant, 2-way connection to users
Users as co-developers
Users willing to accept accompanying imperfections
Uptime and scaling very important

End of the Software Release Cycle #2
Examples
Google the master
Flickr has new builds every 30 minutes
What it means
Less reliance on pre-release usability testing and more reliance on collecting and analyzing usage analytics
User expectation is one of gradual improvement, not “big bang” releases with list of “what’s new” features
More frequent, intimate interaction with users
… likely in cyberspace

Lightweight Software and Business Models #1
Simplicity and nimbleness over completeness
The result of 15 years of web experience
Simplicity of technology and standards leads to ease in understanding and compliance
Arms race – newer companies have advantage with newer tools and standards
10-20X productivity increases achieved
Open-platform business models > “self-distributing ecosystems” + “building on the shoulders of giants”
Spreading product beyond the boundaries of its site
Through APIs, widgets, badges , syndication

Lightweight Software and Business Models #2
Examples
RSS
PHP and Ruby on Rails
Declarative programming
what something is like, rather than how to create it, e.g. HTML, Adobe Flex MXML
Blogs and wikis
Microformats
What it means
Easier tools means better teamwork between designers and developers
Designers can get more technical
Quicker and more frequent design iteration
Trading off feature depth for development speed?

Software above level of single device #1
Supports ubiquitous computing from anywhere using any device
Server-side office suites
Vertical vs. horizontal models
Vertical – vendor-controlled ecosystem
Horizontal – open, cooperating ecosystem under no central control (e.g. blogosphere)
Mobile 2.0
Mobile devices getting smarter and more sophisticated, accounting for more net traffic
New opportunities to serve, attract customers

Software above level of single device #2
Examples
Google office
iTunes – not just for the ipod
Sony Connect
Zune Marketplace
Adobe Flash
The Blogosphere
What it means
Design above a single device
Think server-side tools
Anticipate various remote usage scenarios
Users will increasingly expect device-independent designs

Data as the next “intel inside” #1
Information is the core value, more than software
Databases are behind the market-leading products
The “race is on” to own major classes of online data
Many classes on data unclaimed – e.g. identity, public calendar events, parental control data, etc.
The best way to establish and maintain control of a hard to recreate set of data is to let users do it.
Data-driven applications
User-generated content

Data as the next “intel inside” #2
Examples
Images, charts and graphs
Geo maps and overlays – e.g. NAVTEQ
People
Bookmarks – del.ici.ous
Books and merchandise - amazon
What it means
Remember that data can be the differentiator
Use data to define and enhance the UI
e.g. surface data interesting to individual user rather than display same links everyone gets
e.g. create emergent navigation structures - navigation by tags or other user-generated metadata

Web 2.0 gravitational effect Slide: Dion Hinchcliffe

Common elements of success
Data-driven
Decentralized ecosystems
Leveraged the user to add value
Platforms, not applications
Focused on The Long Tail
Monetized successfully
Motive force: collective intelligence
source: Dion Hinchcliffe

The long tail
Studying and servicing micromarkets
Requires an automated customer self-service

Essential Web 2.0 Ground Rules
Ease of Use is the most important feature of any Web site, Web application, or program .
Open up your content and services as much possible.
There is no future in hoarding information, only facilitating it.
Aggressively add feedback loops to everything.
Pull out loops that don’t matter and emphasize ones that do.
Continuous release cycles.
The bigger the release, the more unwieldy it becomes.
Organic growth is the most powerful , adaptive , and resilient .
Make your users part of your products.
They are your most valuable source of content , feedback , and passion .
Understand social architecture and Architectures of Participation.
Give up non-essential control, or your users may go elsewhere.
Turning Applications Into Platforms.
Original uses of software, services, and content are just the beginning.
Don’t create social communities just to have them.
But do empower inspired users to create them.

Enterprise 2.0 #1
Enterprise adoption of web 2.0 fueled by Seminal 2006 article by Andrew McAfee
Web 2.0 tools as solution for collaboration
“Emergent, freeform, social applications for use within the enterprise”
2 main problems w/ channels & platforms:
Many users unhappy with email/IM channels and intranet/portal platform
Current tools not good at capturing knowledge
Solution: make the practices and outputs of knowledge workers visible through the use of blogs, wikis and other tools

Enterprise 2.0 #2
SLATES
Search
Linking
connect information together into a meaningful information ecosystem using the model of the Web
Authorship
low-barrier social tools enabling users to easily make content consumable by others
Tagging
allows users to create meaningful, useful, and emergent organizational structures
Extensions
spontaneously provide intelligent content suggestions similar to Amazon's recommendation system
Signals
let users know when enterprise information they care about has been published or updated, such as when a corporate RSS feed of interest changes
“… authoring creates content, links and tags knit it together; and search, extensions, tags and signals make emergent patterns in the content visible, and help people stay on top of it all”

Why is enterprise 2.0 different?
forces conspire to provide resistance to productivity
- tools and process require too much effort
maturation of techniques that leverage how people work best
realization of the power of emergent solutions over pre-defined solutions
nearly zero-barriers to use

Enterprise 2.0 Products
Blogging
Movable Type
Wiki
SocialText , Confluence
RSS
Attensa , NewsGator , SimpleFeed
Suites
ConnectBeam , Blogtronix , KnowNow
Lotus Connections
Webex Connect
Thinkfree , Zoho , Zimbra

Connectbeam
Demo video

Product development 2.0

What’s next?
User expectations will continue to grow
Dominant player and “federation of losers” for each major service
Big shakeout of blogging/social sites
Way too many offerings
Offline/Online boundary continues to blur
RIAs and HTML coexist in various appropriate combinations
Web 2.0 hits the enterprise in a big way
Watch out for mobile
Virtual worlds continue to emerge
Second Life continues to draw attention from businesses

Questions?

Web2.0 and What it Means for Business

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