ClappingTree’s Web 2.0

ONLY 21 PERCENT OF the executives surveyed by McKinsey this year (2008) said they are satisfied overall with Web 2.0 tools, while 22 percent voiced clear dissatisfaction. By contrast, over half the executives surveyed by McKinsey last year (2007) said they were pleased with the results of their investments in Internet technologies over the past five years, while a mere 13 percent say they are disappointed with previous investments.

The reason? McKinsey’s findings suggest that companies are coming to understand the difficulty of realizing some of Web 2.0’s benefits. “However, fundamental changes are beginning to take place among the satisfied companies… [They] are not only using more technologies but also leveraging them to change management practices and organizational structures. Some are taking steps to open their corporate “ecosystems” by encouraging customers to join them in developing products and by using new tools to tap distributed knowledge.”

Mix of technologies used is changing: Blogs, RSS, wikis, and podcasts are becoming more common, perhaps because companies have a greater understanding of their value for business (Exhibit 1).

More technologies are in use: Overall, the respondents say that their companies are using 3.4 technologies from an expanded list, versus 2.2 in 2007. Companies use Web 2.0 technologies more frequently for internal than for external purposes, and the rate of deployment remains high for almost all kinds of uses (Exhibit 2).

Web services remains highest used: Respondents rate Web services (software that makes it easier to exchange information and conduct transactions) as the most important tool, with Europeans providing the highest marks. Companies in all regions perceive wikis and blogs as fairly important, and the use of both tools has increased over the past year.

Satisfaction varies markedly by geography: The developed countries of the Asia-Pacific region had the largest percentage of respondents expressing the highest level of overall satisfaction with Web 2.0 tools, and Latin America had the lowest (Exhibit 4).

GAVE A TALK ON WEB 2.0 & Its Business Impacts for the Computer & Information Science Alumni Association at COM1, NUS last month. Cited various real-life examples of how the blogosphere “chatter” could affect a company’s corporate image positively or negatively. Also discussed briefly the people (how they get younger and younger!) and the milestones behind successful Web 2.0 apps such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc.

This slideshow provides a quick overview. Also features a Ping.sg celebrity towards the end (slide 19).

Note: The slideshow is now featured on a similar post with a different title and intro.

JUST FOR THE RECORD: According to ReadWriteWeb, starting last Monday (17 September), Google Presentations is ready for use.

Therefore, Google Docs users can now:

• Create and keep presentations in one place on the web that’s accessible anytime, from any Internet connected computer.
• Manage, update and share presentations with colleagues by sending them a simple email invitation.
• Edit together online and in real time, or contribute at different times to the same presentation on the web.
• Present and control slide shows for all viewers over the web, with no special setup required. Chat with viewers in real-time via integrated chat.
• Import existing presentations to get started quickly.
• Quickly publish presentations to the general public or individuals of their choice.

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WHAT WILL A BLOGGER DO when s/he gets an amazing offer to do a joint research project with an overseas professor AND joins a management council in her estate AND works almost full-time around the same time? S/he could choose to spill it all, complete with names, juicy bits, rumors, maybe even email messages, photos, podcasts and vidcasts… OR s/he could simply clam up.

In my case, I’ve chosen the latter because I’m basically a private person, PLUS council work has turned out to be really time-consuming (gasp!) AND really serious work, bound by strict building management laws and regulations.

I’m taking a break for another month or so. Pardon my silence.