Participation not dissemination. The new business model encourages people to use, integrate and modifiy as needed for their purposes. The companies that best facilitate this become indespensible or even engrained in the culture by becoming a verb for the process. Many people ‘google’ for content on the web. Google has become a verb synonymous with searching the web.
Community. Creating community is crucial. In the Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams , the main character, Ray Kinsella while standing in his field is informed from a faceless voice that if he builds it, ‘they will come.’ So he plows under a good part of his field to build a baseball diamond in the hope that ‘they will come’. Seems crazy, but this is a similar experience with a lot of business ventures. One needs to take a risk to try and build community, but there is always the risk that no one will come.
If a product encourages self expression, participation, is simple, easy of use, and customized for the user’s needs, then there is a greater chance, the customer, client, participant will come, use, click through on potenial adds, etc. What can be created is community culture that takes on a life of it’s own. A company cannot create this by itself. The participants make the content indespensible, because they are integral in creating and modifying it.
Customization. It’s all about the users experience. The tools should scream, ‘use me’, ‘play with me.’ It’s not about what the business wants the participant to experience as it is about the ability of the participant to mold the tool to their needs.
Google, MySpace, Technorati, Digg, Del.icio.us YouTube are great examples of how one can get to what they want or create what they want quickly and easily. Think of the waiter asking, ‘What would you like off the menu?’ and the customer saying, I would like some of this with that and, by the way, mix it all up the way I like it with extra gravy!’
What about the education business?
- How are we preparing kids to participate in the Web 2.0 culture?
- How are we helping them be good netizens, consumers, publishers, creators?
- How are we helping kids invent their lives?
- How are we preparing teachers to live and work in this environment?
- What skills should teachers teach in addition to the core content of their respective subject areas?
A place to start. Imagine the perfect senario and dwell on it for some time. Then draw a mind map describing the details of this senario. From this experience we may be able to begin to better understand what we are trying to create for education clients of the 21st century.
Very interesting, it is so true that some times taking big risks can get you far in life , the bad thing is tho, that taking a gamble on wheather you will succeed. What I find really weird is that the great web sites such as google, myspace, and digg are so great and simple, that I kick myself in the butt for wondering why did’nt I think of that. !An example for taking a “risk” was the creator of the web site Digg.com. He quit G4Tech TV, “which was a great show,” and he made the digg web site. Quiting a TV show for a web site to me sound crazy, but he ended up making bank on the digg website.
I think you are on to something Scott. I feel the path we take next is finding our customers vision and molding our philosophy to their goals. Making our selves indispensable because it is their plan in the first place. I love the mind mapping, it is a great visual.
I like it. The article is a little short, but it gets to the point very quickly, and efficently.
I don’t like buisness related things, they bore me to death and i fall asleep really easy.
a good article because sites like google ,myspace and youtube are really popular so it shows how much people like things where they can get what they want or create what they want quickly and easily.
I think the webpage is alright. Theres lots of thinkgs that you could learn of what people would want on there on t their wepage and what they would expect from you .
This makes a lot of sense. I don’t think that the kids should not be the only ones to read this.
In the beginning I was very confused about what you were talking about. Towards the end it started to make more sence and become interesting. To say the truth, in the beginning it was just “blablablablabla” to me. Although you sound really smart and know what you’re talking about.
This brings up some interesting ideas that I never thought about before. It is interesting how many of the new web companies became a verb. Also, being interactive seems to be another popular idea in business. These new ideas for business seem to be quite effective . Also, I think thatis this idea may be even more popular in the future.
Im not entirely sure what this means but it looks impressive.
This is quire true, somewhat basic in my opinion. The only thing I can say is that people seem to have issues with thinking in this idealogy because of any risk involved.,, and having tioo take that risk. It’s also kind of part of the ttechinilogical divide thing… And this site is really glitchy. I don’t have much to say on the matter, because to me it’s just a simple idea still.
I like this article because its short and sweet it shows that people will use somthing that is easy and gets them what they want quickly.
I believe that this article has some good points to it. Businesses will not be successful if the consumer or customer doesn’t feel comfortable using it. If it’s not appealing it will be maimed and destroyed. That’s why it’s so important to be easy to use and hands on. All in all I agree with this to the upmost!
Web 2.0 is the dawn of interactive websites as we all know. That main point of this new web is creating a place where anyone can create and contribute to the greater good of the site(s) as a whole. As you mentioned, MANY sites already take full advantage of interactive markets and have received the EMMENSE communities that follow any good site.
The problem is building a tool that is not only an amazing site, but also something that students will willingly want to participate in. But, the solution can be just as simple, let them develope the content; after all, this is Web2.0.
The focus of any new website being built in the Web2.0 ideology is being easy to use, simple to follow, and ultimately having RELEVENT material that people will care about. In doing this to make any kind of teaching tool would become greatly valued and more or less appreciated by the students that use it, hopefully.
This article is very true, in todays society it is necessary to integrate ways to make something fun and easy, even if it is the most boring thing in the world. It is the only way to attract attention these days, as for the risk vs profit, that is also true, you have to take risks in order to prosper. The larger risk, the larger the profit or failure.
I’m not quite sure what this is really trying to say but i get the jiss of it. Its really true that people should take risks to achieve their dreams but if it benefits others in a posiitive way or negative way is another story. In my opinion bulilding a ‘program’ that helps students get what they want isn’t the best way to help them learn because the fact is, they aren’t. the computer is. There ideas are based on others and not themselves.. They’re just copying other peoples opinion and ideas and saying that it was theres instead. we’re sort of encourage them to cheat in a way. whatever i have no idea what i’m trying to say or if what i’m saying even relates tto the subject.. have a nnice day mr. leduc.
It’s interesting to think of how these business techniques could be applied to education. Creating communites can be very useful for classes as deminstrated on the generation tech web site. Custimization is also extremely useful to students. It allows students to take control of there own learning (or at least feel like it).
I think that is a good idea. Because kids these days like to do things that they know they can use in the future. If they can be taught these things in a fun and exciting manner then they will want to learn. And the more you want to learn the more you learn.
I think why fix it if it isn’t broke theres no resone to have students setup new accounts in websites, if we haven’t had a problem with web 2.0 culture not being in schools before why would it be a problem now?
Uh, is it me or does all the mentioned websites have a GREAT search engine and way to leave comments. At least this should be considered the basics of any 2.0 website in my opinion.