These days, so much focus is put on technology when it comes to web 2.0. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it was too much, however, I do think that we need to remember what the benefit of all this new technology is going to bring businesses of the future.
People buy from people and web 2.0 is helping evolve the internet into a place where future online businesses may indeed live or die by this old school principle once again.
What I am talking about is human interaction. To me, web 2.0 is all about enabling human beings to communicate with one or many other human beings through a new dynamic interface we call the internet. Communities that are built with web 2.0 at their core are popping up all over the place these days. Facebook, digg, youtube and bebo are probably some of the more significant examples.
The thing is that as these sites grow there is going to be an obvious desire by businesses to take advantage of the massive communities that their technology serves. However, the strategy required to extract the gains that will be expected requires the breaking of new ground. To use the words of Seth Godin, "Brands cannot simply yell their message at people online."
So the answer is obviously interaction, which brings me to my point. Once you have the technology to interact with your customers online, who is best to interact with them? I believe we are about to experience a back to the future type revolution.
Future online businesses will have web 2.0 strategy that includes technology promoting customer interaction with humans online, so isn't going to all be about having the best sales people again?
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