Cloud 2.0 and Web 2.0 has a broad area of overlap and contains some of the same applications. Cloud 2.0 uses hardware (storage), software applications hosted externally and accessible via the internet. Web 2.0 uses also interactive shared software that is hosted externally and accessible via the internet. One could argue that all Web 2.0 is Cloud 2.0 and visa verse but to get a more clear picture of where there is a relationship between the two subjects I will start working a definition of Web 2.0 and then follow up with a Cloud 2.0 description.
Web 2.0 definition:
Application types; the definition of application types can be divided into 5 types, in order to simplify the issues of fulfilling the criteria of the definition. The 5 types are of categories as;
- Social Media/Networks: The application allows the users to produce their own websites accessible to other users for exchange of personal content and communication. Social media/networks play an important role in the distribution of information and WOM (word of mouth) collaboration, which allow users to communicate and interact (interact in form of messaging among other things) Examples: Twitter (message of 140 words), FaceBook, LinkedIn, Ning and MySpace among other. This area will be further developed in its own paragraph.
- Blogs: Is the same web logs, an online journal, the best known of the Web 2.0 applications (Du and Wagner, 2006) Blogs are often a combination of text Video-casts or Podcasts. With blogs you can combine digital audio and or video which can be streamed and downloaded on small portable devices. Blogs can be public and private towards a specific group of readers/followers. Some blogs as a huge amount of readers/followers which has been very influential and therefore important medias for product and services development (Gillin, 2007). Famous blogs: gizmodo.com among others.
- Communities (content): This is web sites organizing and sharing specific types of content. The best known of the Video sharing applications is Youtube.com recently purchased by Google.
- Forums/Bulletin boards: This is interactive sites where exchanging ideas and information is made usually around specific topics and interests. Examples: opinions.com. It has been seen that some of these bulletin boards has developed into online markets (ebay.com) allowing costumers to costumer payments and transactions.
- Content aggregators: Can take 2 different forms. One of form includes applications allowing users to access easily fully customised syndicated web content. This is when sites are using enabling technologies as RSS (Real Simple Syndication) Examples: Google.com/ig the second form of content aggregators is when websites collect material from different sources to create a customized product or service. Example: Google Maps is a good example of an aggregator.
The most important difference seen from a marketing perspective in Web 2.0 environments is the application user (collaboration) is not only a passive information consumer but an active content contributor with the pro and cons which follow this new way of exchanging information, products and services. As we have an active contributor in form as a consumer the normal enterprise control of the information, product and services flow is not in control anymore. The term User Generated Content (UGC) is often used to underline this special attribute of all above Web 2.0 applications forms.
Social effects: Birdsall (2007) has noticed that Web 2.0 as a social movement has become an internal part of the daily use of many consumers. Several social actions take place in this environment and the almost unlimited possibilities to take contact/ engage and exchange information goods or services with other users allow the creation of online communities. These online communities are formed around demographics or special interests which again create openness in the environment (Beer and Barrows, 2007; Birdsall, 2007).
Generating content and exchanging the content in its many forms as copy reproduce and re-mix information on the Web 2.0 domain is a normal practise. Practices of this kind lead to the democratization process of the technology, information and knowledge (O´Reilly, 2005), which leads to a user participation on a new level, with users becoming contributors, reporters, commentators and editors. The possibility for the users to engage and exchange in a transparent conversation with other users and even industry and politicians has become a reality in the special interest groups and communities. Social media/networks have become part of specially the youth culture but other parts of the society have adapted the possibility to exchange information, goods and services quickly. Politicians have lately used the social media/networks with success. The American president candidate now president of the USA has used social media/networks to deliver his message of change to the entire American population. Herby he has understood the power of the communication platform and the communities which he has created to reach an even broader part of the population more precise and with the possibility to get a reaction from his voters. It is getting uncommon that businesses create such communities themselves inviting people to become members. What has been common is that users of certain products creates communities by themselves to discuss the possibilities of the product and create new ways of using the products on or even find some of the negative sites of the product.
Where it gets really interesting is in the areas where there is relations between Web 2.0 and Cloud 2.0 and where we place the tools for the two subjects. In the below model you will see that the enabling technologies are placed in the Cloud 2.0 column and the communications tools are placed in the Web 2.0 column.Then you have the column both - which has shared applications with social networking aspects of Wiki, more and SaaS (Software as a Service) aspects from cloud computing. The middle group - both presents or meet the definitions of Cloud 2.0 and Web 2.0. The relation between Web and Cloud is pinpointed around open source, SaaS, SOA (Service oriented architecture and SOE (Service oriented enterprise).
Web 2.0 | Both | Cloud 2.0 |
Blogger | Google docs | RSS |
Twitter | Google Wave | Flickr |
Facebook | Ning | iTunes |
LinkedIn | Skype | |
Wikispaces | Jing | |
Podcasting | Slidecast | |
Voice Thread | ||
Definition enabling technologies/Cloud 2.0: Enabling technologies has been a source to frustration for the ones who try to define the social media, as these get the labelled of applications (Korica et al. 2006). The applications is often a combination of old/existing technology and the more advanced web technology in order to get the Web 2.0 functioning and can be described as Cloud 2.0 functions. Another difference in Web 2.0 technology is the use of open source software and the free developers who uses their time and effort to create these new applications in the Cloud by a more amateur like basis (O´Reilly, 2005; Constantinides and Fountain, 2008) Many of these applications (Google, Skype etc.) are continuously improved and updated even when users are online on these products, so in short you will not as with other software see the various versions of the software they will happen while you use it which is the principe of using Cloud. This is here the democratization process and the exchange in the hands of the application user who will act co-developer in the open source environment. This new structure of development has led to a fast, low cost and highly efficient application development.
RSS – Rich Site Summary a way to syndicate and customize online content.
Wiki – is an application to allow collaboration publishing.
Widget – is a generic term for the part of a graphical user interface that allows users to interface with the application and operating system.
Mash-ups - are aggregators of content from different online sources to create a new service.
AJAX – is a web development technique used for creating interactive web applicationsSo, wheter you call them Web 2.0 or Cloud 2.0 computing these technologies will likely serve us for some time to come.
No doubt that both Social Media and Cloud are both interesting for an enterprise company but as I have seen from other blogs and papers on the subject you need to have internal people to work the media to secure the best possible outcome and content to have the success. From a Cloud point of view it seems that this is an opportunity to get other people in the organisation to take lead on the IT investments that is quite refreshing.
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