Description/Theoretical Framework of Web 2.0
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 11:34AM What follows is a fairly long excerpt from my paper which treats the salient aspects of web 2.0 (blogs and RSS) from the point of view of business. It is still a bit of a rough diamond I feel and for all intent and purposes it probably needs to be made shorter but so far this is what we have and I am thundering along with the rest of the paper before I return to the previous sections for corrections.
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4.1 Web 2.0 – The New Internet
Even though the internet has been around for a while, indeed quite a long time if you count the forerunner of today’s internet/web as it was developed in the 1950s as a part of the US defense communications [CV1] system [CV2] . In this paper we will not go through the entire history of the internet but home in on the turn of the 20th century and more specifically spring 2000 which marked the beginning of the end for the booming asset prices in the US DotCom sector. [1] Between 1998 and the spring 2000 the internet sector managed to earn a return on equity of almost 1000%. Yet, this whopping gain was abruptly cancelled out by the end of 2000 as markets corrected to the real fundamentals of the asset class in a violent fashion once again proving the proverb of ‘easy come easy go’. [2] This bust in the internet sector had two effects. On the one hand it caused market commentators and analysts to hail the internet as considerably over hyped. But, on the other hand the DotCom bust also provided a much needed shakeout in an industry which indeed was over hyped with unrealistic expectations on asset returns and turnover [3] . Indeed those internet companies who managed to survive the turmoil represented the coming of a new era and essentially a much more mature industry. Consequently, in the 6 years which have passed since then we have seen the emergence of a new web and crucially a new interactive platform which could for all intent and purposes be nominated as web 2.0. So what is this all about then?
The best approach to understand web 2.0 as a phenomenon as oppose to the ‘old’ web (web 1.0) is to look at the so-called design patterns [4] of web 2.0 which constitute the core principles on which web 2.0 is built and which is embodied by numerous internet companies and services, as well as the web 2.0 business tools themselves (i.e. blogs, RSS, podcasting, videoblogging etc).
The most fundamental feature of web 2.0 is how users add value proportionally to their participation rate [5] . This is a striking feature of web 2.0 technologies and practices and essentially transcends all aspects of web 2.0. The clearest exemplification of this is the so-called ‘wiki principle’ [6] which underpins the notion that the collective and unshackled activity of multiple web users is the most efficient way to create and maintain knowledge and thus value. The most notable example of the wiki principle is the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.com which allows users to edit and create articles with very little supervision. However, the wiki principle goes beyond the beacon represented by the success of Wikipedia. In fact, the expansion of web 2.0 and the value created embody the notion and imperative which lies in the idea of harnessing the collective intelligence. As such, web 2.0 becomes the embodiment of the normative assertion that collective intelligence in a horizontally integrated and essentially chaotic environment is a much more efficient catalyst of knowledge and value creation than a vertically integrated and controlled environment. It is thus not wholly unreasonable to assert that web 2.0 itself is a product of collective and unhindered activity and indeed that the web today grows proportionally to the increase in mass of collective activity. Finally, this can also be conceptualized through the idea of open-source communities and crucially the actual programming platforms of web 2.0. As such, it is common for programmers and publishers of internet software services to grant free access to the source code of their programs so that the community of users can add to the service’s utility and value. In this way, even the basic framework and rules of the game in terms of a given service become subject to continuous revision and change, an aspect of web 2.0 which O’Reilly captures in the idea of the ‘perpetual beta’ and the idea that web 2.0 services are designed for remixablity and hackability. [7]
In summary, web 2.0 represents a conceptualization which narrates the web as a set of principles. O’Reilly notes for example how web 2.0 is not surrounded by a hard shell but more so that web 2.0 constitutes a gravitational core which embodies the principles noted above. This core then ties together a system of services and sites which individually demonstrates and features all or some of the core web 2.0 principles. [8] Moving closer to a more broad theoretical perception of web 2.0 the realm of economics can help us and specifically two concepts are important here. Firstly, web 2.0 as a platform and core exhibits notable network externalities [9] where the addition of one user to the network adds collective benefit to the users already on the network and in this way the network (in this case web 2.0) grows in value proportional to the participants [10] . Secondly, the economic concept of value added also seems to suit very well the web 2.0 principles. In essence, the concept of value added [11] is best understood in the context of the firm where value added is defined as the value of the firm’s output minus the value of inputs to production. In the context of web 2.0 value added is intimately tied to the idea of the ‘wiki principle’ and collective intelligence. In this way, web 2.0 as a catalyst of knowledge creation is designed in a way where the collective production process of the users adds value. Crucially this also needs to be tied together with the idea of network externalities which thus can be said to be positively correlated with value added. In short, the principles and rules of the game in web 2.0 potentially allows for substantial gains in value added and thus productivity in terms of knowledge creation, maintenance, and management.
In the following, the paper will engage in a thorough analysis of weblogs (blogs) and RSS as representatives of the web 2.0 principles. The analysis will be supported through case studies which are added in detail as appendices and summarized in the paper [CV4] .
4 [B5] .1.3 Blogs – It’s the Conversation StupidBlogs represent perhaps the most defining and enduring feature of web 2.0. Blogs have essentially been around for nearly a decade now and thus also from before the 2000 DotCom bubble burst. In essence, a blog is nothing more than a personal website but the characteristics of a blog show us why it belongs firmly within the boundaries of the web 2.0 principles discussed above. Firstly, a blog is much more dynamic than a static personal website and indeed the telling sign that you have stumbled upon a blog on the internet is that it is organized as a personal diary with entries (posts) sorted in reverse chronological order [12] . These entries are formally sorted on the internet through so-called permalinks [13] which means that every single blog entry has its own address (URL) on the internet. Furthermore, most blog authors allow commentaries and thus conversation in relation to each entry. As such, the link to a blog represents a link to a dynamic page which changes continuously and where the newest entry always will be on top of the page. Moreover, blogs are also syndicated through RSS [14] which means that you are able to subscribe to a blog and thus avoid to actually visit the blog in order to follow the flow of entries posted [15] . Another feature often but not always ascribed to blogs is the conversational and often open narrative tone. However, if these characteristics are salient to the description of a single blog it is what ties the blogs together which really reveals the power and reach of blogs.
4.1.4 The Blogosphere – The Collective BrainThe collective mass of blogs on the internet is often referred to as the blogosphere. Beginning with the quantity of blogs it is almost impossible to deliver an exact number but a recent report from Technorati [16] published in October 2006 [17] yields +57 millions blogs tracked by Technorati. The report also shows how the blogosphere is still growing at a healthy clip with 100.000 blogs being created a day and more importantly a whopping 1.3 million posts a day. However, there are signs that blogging as a media is maturing. In a recent report by State of the News Media 2007 [18] in the US the figures show how the creation of new blogs exhibits signs of having peaked whereas blog readership continues to grow steadily. Concerning the global dispersement of blogs a recent study by the US consultancy firm Edelman [19] gives a very comprehensive account of the state of the global blogosphere. First off, in terms of language English dominates with 39% of blog posts but quite surprisingly Japanese is not far behind with 33% and coupled with Chinese accounting for 10% the Edelman study reveals Asia as the global blogging powerhouse [20] . This picture continues with blog readership where respondents in Japan, China, and South Korea account for the highest percentage of blog readership. [21] Looking finally at the demographics of blogging the picture is consistent wordwide with the age group 18-24 and 25-34 accounting for the lion’s share of blog readership. [22] [B6]
However, aggregate statistics on the blogosphere are generally misleading when it comes to the overall anatomy of the blogosphere and crucially its value creating mechanism. Firstly, many blogs are zombie-blogs in the sense that they are essentially dead after the first 3-5 entries because the author quickly looses interest in publishing. Secondly, many blogs are also classified as spam blogs (splogs) which exists only to promote links and thus search engine rating for associated or derivative sites. Essentially, the value creating mechanism of blogs and the blogosphere can best be understood through the study of the several fascinating eco-systems [CV7] of which the blogosphere consists. These eco-systems consist of narrow topical spheres which are characterized by a very deep pool of knowledge in terms of a specific field. In appendix x and x two [CV8] examples of such eco-systems are presented as case studies. Specifically, these case studies will demonstrate in practice how blogging exhibits the key characteristics of web 2.0. Ultimately it is thus a key recommendation by this paper that the blogosphere is conceptualized both in aggregate terms and in terms of the underlying eco-systems in order to fully explain the phenomenon.
4.1.5 Blogs and Business – What do Blogs do?Given the description above about the nature of blogs and their defining characteristics it should not be very difficult to see why business would want to take part in the blogosphere or at least listen to what is going on within this new and growing media sphere. In the following the paper will dig into the nitty-gritty of what blogs do in a business context.
One of the most comprehensive surveys on blogging and business is the 2006 Blogging Success Study conducted by Dr. Walter Carl from the Northwestern University and John Cass and associates at Backbone Media Inc [23] . The study comes well equipped with suggestions for implementation for aspiring business bloggers and case studies on businesses already blogging. Its conclusion yields five factors for a successful business blog and thus five ways where blogging potentially can benefit the company. The first factor identified is culture where the study notes how companies can use blogs to renounce a bad reputation in terms of image and thus reveal the true culture of the company in the way it is intended or more specifically, blogs can give business an authentic voice. Secondly, blogs convey transparency which in turn is argued to inspire trust and credibility with the (external) audience. Concepts such as reflexivity towards the company’s own strategy, decisions and authencity in communication are crucial concepts here. Thirdly, a blogging company engages in a dialogue and conversation with the wide (blogging) community most likely on topics with direct linkage to the company’s activities but not necessarily; nowadays companies take a stance an a wide range of topics and blogs can help. Fourthly, blogging takes time and any well maintained and valuable blog will gobble up considerably company resources in terms of time. Fifth and finally, a successful business blog must be well written and thus be differentiated from the average 16 year old teenage girl blogging about her cat not only in content but also in writing and presentation style. Blogging is a written media and especial attention must be ascribed to conveying a human, conversational yet also professional voice. [24]
Another comprehensive study on the effects and workings of blogs in a business context is a study by Tom Kelleher and Barbara M. Miller from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [25] The study is interesting first and foremost because it sets off to empirically test the potential advantages for blogs relative to regular websites. More formally, the study seeks to test a series of hypotheses which relate to whether blogs convey a human conversational voice to a larger degree than a traditional website and whether this is positively correlated with the perception of the efficiency of the company’s relationship strategies with its external environment specifically defined through the concept of relational maintenance strategies in an online communication context. Essentially, the study is of course by definition guided by statistic validity as a function of correlation coefficients and on that note the paper finds a significant (i.e. statistically) correlation between a blog's conversational human voice and its ability to convey/maintain a computer mediated relationship. In the authors' words a blog as a function of its conversational human voice showed positive correlation with 'relationship outcomes' as they were initially defined by the paper. [B9]
4.1.6 Summary – BloggingIn summary, blogs appear to have the potential to add considerable differentiation to online business communication to external audiences. Points of note include blogs as vessels of human voices and thus authenticity, how blogs can convey cultural aspects of the company, and lastly how blogs enable companies to engage in dialogues with its external audience in conversational manner. In appendix X and X [B10] case studies [CV11] are added which support the analysis above with examples of blogging business. The paper now turns to the investigation of the second web 2.0 business tool under scrutiny, web syndication/RSS
4.1.7 RSS – A new Communication ChannelWhereas blogs discussed above can be conceptualized through their individual characteristics and their collective dynamism RSS [26] or content syndication is a different beast entirely. On the one hand RSS can be described through the web 2.0 design patterns as a kind of glue which together with linking ties together web 2.0 as an ever updated and real time media. However, on the other hand and perhaps the best way to understand RSS from a business perspective is to see it as an alternative and supplementary communication channel to e-mail, phone, fax, postal mail etc. As such, business today has a variety of different channels through which to direct information to customers or stakeholders and RSS represents a new online channel designed to deliver internet content to target audiences in an easy and dynamic way. RSS thus enables updated website content from blogs, news sites, corporate websites etc to be syndicated in real time to either other websites or applications called feed aggregators. [27] Concerning the technical aspect of RSS this paper will not dwell extensively by it. In short, RSS is based on a flexible programming language (XML) [28] which is designed to facilitate data-sharing. [29] The RSS file itself is known in laymen terms as the RSS feed on which users can then subscribe. The applications used to read RSS feeds then formally works to decode the XML based format into text. [30] Examples of feed readers include online services (e.g. Bloglines or Netvibes) or desktop applications (e.g. Feed Demon).Yet, how many people know what RSS and how many use it?
This of course marks the most important initial point about RSS. Consequently, if a user does not have a RSS feed reader and subsequently chooses to subscribe to your company’s feed the syndicated information flow will not reach its target. This again means that if your target audience does not know how to get your RSS feed let alone what RSS is it has little impact as a marketing tool. Initial survey data from North America provided by Charlene Li shows a relatively subdued rate of adoption. The average RSS user is coined as a young male aged 39 and member of the technological elite. [31] Behind this demographic group lies the rather meager quantitative data point of a mere 2% of adults which use RSS. The corresponding figure is 5% for young consumers (between 12 and 21 years). Regarding gender 65% of RSS users are male. Yet, whereas RSS perhaps today is not in widespread use it is growing fast and given the potential opportunities for business there is little doubt that this has to be taken seriously by marketers. This point is also echoed by Philip Gomes [32] which has a very to the point conceptualization of the future of RSS;
“While perhaps not in widespread use now, the day will come when the online location of a company's RSS feed will be just as much of a PR pro’s email signature file as his or her email address, homepage, and phone number.” Philip Gomes (2003) p.2.
In this way it appears that RSS offers exciting and promising potentials for business and in the following we shall see what these opportunities represent as we home in on details of RSS and business.
4.1.8 RSS and Business – Versatility and Adaptability [B12]The best way to conceptualize the anatomy of RSS and thus to describe its potential for business is to look at the characteristics of RSS as a communication channel. In essence, RSS is best initially understood in terms of how the specific channel characteristics benefit the user.
The most important benefit for the user in terms of RSS is that it allows for a more efficient content, knowledge and information management. The benefit is that RSS enables users to store all relevant content in one place and thus she does not have to visit multiple websites to get the information she wants [33] . As such RSS becomes a very efficient and versatile tool to the management of the huge information and content flow on the web especially for the experienced web user but increasingly also for the average user. Secondly, RSS offers the opportunity, from both the sender’s and recipient’s point of view, to bypass the usage of e-mail. The point is that e-mail represents a communication channel which today is overcrowded and in this light RSS constitutes a powerful alternative to e-mail and crucially for example, a valuable alternative to business’ use of eNewsletters [34] . This also generally reflects the maturing of e-mail as a communication channel relative to the broad development of the web. Everybody today has e-mail but this channel is ill-equipped as a single handler of increasingly large and diverse content flow on the internet today. In short, there are limits as to how much content users want in their inboxes. Thirdly, RSS empowers the user through total control over feed management and information flow. This underpins the most important aspect of RSS as a communication channel in the sense that it becomes a 100 % pull-channel. Businesses (i.e. the RSS provider) cannot force content on the user through RSS but merely supply RSS feeds and design the channel in such a way to make it attractive for stakeholders (i.e. recipients) to subscribe. This means that recipients are empowered in concrete terms through the role of gatekeepers of the information flow. Moreover, it also brings the business closer to its stakeholders exactly in the sense that stakeholders hold the ultimate control regarding the external content flow of the business [B13] [35] . Lastly, RSS not only enables efficient management of more content but also potentially yields time and monitoring efficiency gains in terms information and content tracking. This effect primarily materializes itself through the opportunity to categorize and stack information more efficiently relative to the amount of information consumed. However, this gain should be emphasized as potential as it relies on the design of the RSS channel as well as the properties of feed aggregator used by the recipient [36] .
Turning over to RSS from the sender’s (business’) perspective the description above should of course provide with some guidance. The overall most important aspect about RSS from the sender’s point of view is of course the actual design of the communication channel. The specifics of this process will be outlined and discussed in the analysis. Yet, some comments should be attached here. First of all, RSS is suited for all kinds of external communication which flows from a company’s online platform but some kinds of information are better suited than others. Specifically, RSS relates to content which is continuously and frequently updated and where real time recieval is important. However, in more general terms RSS enables companies to wield considerable communicational power as they can become content syndicators through their own online newsrooms. [37] Following this point and of course pending that the company has a proper design RSS holds the potential to considerably streamline and dynamise the external communication flow in a company. Add to this that consumers/stakeholders are pulling the information makes RSS as a communication channel versatile in terms of business contact with external stakeholders. This versatility is mirrored in the fact that companies can measure and survey how many subscribers its RSS feeds have and the RSS feeds which are most popular. Coupled with RSS as a pure pull channel this translates into a very real and direct proxy for how external stakeholders view the external communication platform of the company.
4.1.8 Summary – RSSIn summary, RSS as a communication channel presents notable opportunities for business to enhance their (online) external communication flow. One of the main benefits of RSS rests in the fact that it is a pure pull communication channel which is a proxy for 100% user empowerment and concretely sanctions external stakeholders as gatekeepers of the information flow. More generally RSS offers a way to syndicate any kind of information in real time making it especially useful for continuously and frequently updated data sources. From the user’s point of view RSS also adds considerable advantage in terms of information and content management as well as it enables the user to more efficiently control the information flow through feed categorizing and metafeeds [B14] . From the company’s point of view RSS enables a very versatile and dynamic management of external communication. Specifically, the fact that RSS can syndicate almost any kind of content as well as the ability to tailor the channel design translates into notable opportunities to create news- and press rooms where all external communication is sent out through a diversified RSS pipeline.
4.2 Summary – Web 2.0In the sections above, the salient principles of web 2.0 have been presented through the concept of web 2.0 design patterns. Moreover, the specific tools relevant to this paper were presented. Blogs were argued to hold considerable potential for a more diversified communication to external stakeholders where a conversational voice and authenticity are among the elements which were identified as important factors. Moving on to content syndication, RSS was described as a new versatile and flexible communication channel on the web. In the following, the paper will engage in a description of generic business theories on organizational behavior, markets, and customer relationship.
[1] Ofek and Richardson (2003) – DotCom Mania: The Rise and Fall of Internet Stock Prices. The Journal of Finance vol. 58 no. 3 June 2003.
[2] Ofek and Richardson (2003) p. 1.
[3] O’Reilly (2005) p 1. (Tim O’Reilly (2005) – What is web 2.0? Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software).
[4] O’Reilly (2005).
[5] O’Reilly (2005) pp. 9-10.
[6] Economist, the (2006) – The Wiki Principle
[7] O’Reilly (2005) pp. 19-20.
[8] O’Reilly (2005) pp. 1-2.
[9] Begg, Fisher and Dornbush (2003) pp. 202-203.
[10] This could also be conceptualized through ’increasing returns to scale’ and in this case increasing returns to collective participation.
[11] Bishop (2004) p. 269.
[12] O’Reilly (2005) p. 8.
[13] Permanent links.
[14] More on that below.
[15] O’Reilly (2005) pp. 8-9.
[16] Basically Technorati is like Google but it only tracks blogs, and blog posts.
[17] Sifry.com (2006) - http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000443.html
[18] Micropersuasion, Steve Rubel (2007) - http://www.micropersuasion.com/2007/03/report_new_blog.html
[19] Edelman (2007) – A Corporate Guide to the Global Blogosphere.
[20] Edelman (2007) p. 3.
[21] Edelman (2007) p. 5.
[22] Edelman (2007) p. 8.
[23] Carl and Cass (2006) – The Blogging Success Study - http://www.scoutblogging.com/success_study/
[24] See ’Executive Summary’ in the study for a summary of these five success factors.
[25] Kelleher and M. Miller (2006) – Organizational Blogs and the Human Voice: Relational Strategies and Relational Outcomes. http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue2/kelleher.html
[26] Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication
[27] Gomes (2003) p. 3.
[28] ‘ eXtensible markup langauge’
[29] Li (2005) p.2.
[30] Andersson and Larsson (2005) pp. 12-13.
[31] Li (2005) p. 8. (figure 3)
[32] See list of references
[33] Li (2005) p. 3.
[34] Li (2005) p. 3-4.
[35] Li (2005) p. 3.
[36] Li (2005) p. 3-4.
[37] Gomes (2003) pp. 3-4.
[CV1] Omformuler?
[CV2] Kilde?
[CV3] Eksempler er vigtige her … i.e. services, tools etc. + eksempler på specifikke temaer såsom collective intelligence, network externalities etc. + social bookmarking?!
[CV4] Indgå I metoden?! Er indskrevet!!!
[B5] Mangler der et summay her?!
[B6] And Europe?! + danmark
[CV7] Udyb en smule I teksten her
[CV8] husk
[B9] eventuelt inkluder konklusoiner op PR også? + hvad med Tim Fischer. Om PR…
[B10] husk
[CV11] igen, uddyb en lille smule her.
[B12] Conversion rates?
[B13] Skal måske differentieres; i.e. ikke K;UN RSSS!
[B14] Kilde?!
Reader Comments (1)
Thank you so much.
Thank you for sharing one of your many useful informations.