Reiterating what I said in one of my previous posts – web2.0 is a socially driven phenomenon, facilitated by technology
So is internet necessary for web2.0? Not Really! Web2.0 is not online-dependent.
An interesting parallel is that of mashups. The benefit they offered to users was an integrated experience of viewing things/contents from different sources on the same page – without having to go to multiple sites.
Extending the same idea to offline – read an interesting article on Bnet - Yum Brands, the global fast-food restaurant operator. Interestingly they adopted the similar concept in 1995. Yum began with multibranded units — restaurants that offer two different fast food brands under the one roof.
Such Mashup restaurants/Co-located restaurants offer customers more food choices, which is especially convenient for families.
The core concepts of web2.0, namely, collaboration, syndication (distribution), mashup/aggregation (mix n match) and personalization can be adopted by offline business to give them a winning edge!
Filed under: B2B Marketing, B2C Marketing | Tagged: B2B Marketing, B2C Marketing, Web 2.0
I am not a avid watcher of this Web thing, however i stumble upon this report through slashdot about Web 2.0 bubble burst which looks quite interesting.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2164136,00.asp
Some very genuine comparisons have been shown which accounted for the last bubble burst.
Things do look a little ominous and probably we all should be a little cautious before we embrace this .
Learnings from the past could also be useful before we start using Web2.0 for our benefit .
Some more information about the Web 2.0 phenomenon , the best is the map which gave me a little inside to what can be done using this.
http://www.gnucitizen.org/projects/mindmap-what-is-web20
Web2.0 cannot be replicated by off line business , no matter how hard you try. Lets face it , the difference in off line and online media has some great contrasts. Off line media cannot target niche segments , cannot offer much differentiation to customers as varied as the web. they cannot build,rebuild mash ups , nor does it really have the gut to allow users ( off line-customers )to add content or add value as web2.0 sites like Facebook,MySpace and Youtube does .
Offline Companies are restricted by geographical space, by old web1.0 practices and concepts which lays more important to structures and hierarchy .One major difference between web1.0 and web2.0 is that one former is more publisher centric whereas the later is user centric .web2.0 is online democracy in action .And the best part is that it allows virtually everyone to mash up content,syndicate their own piece of online real estate and share it with everyone on their friends list on their social network.
Brick and Mortar stores has got a lot of baggage from the past. Its sheer size and scale would not let users to create value .
Your example of mash up restaurants is too simplistic . I am not very optimistic if web2.0 can be a success in the offline world . Or Putting it more succinctly I am not sure if Our CEO’s and our legacy systems would actually allow customers to create value for them .since they still believe in control.
Neither can our Offline companies target the long tail of search , which web2.0 properties can do .
Sumit, i agree and disagree with you. Agree coz maybe the examples chosen are simple and any business, online or offline is much more complex. But the reason of choosing simple examples is not to say things are easy, but to say that things are doable and is just an indication.
If we go back in time and compare strategies of say Ambani and Birla as manufacturers, they have been radically different and we know both have been successful. so the point am trying to make is that all is possible and no strategy is absolutely right or wrong, it needs to be backed by convection and operational support.