What is Web 2.0?

In Search Of Web 2.0

Many of us are hearing the new term Web 2.0. But what exactly is Web 2.0? I didn’t even know there was a Web 1.0. So if you are feeling out of the loop, I’ll fill you in on what the ‘Search Engine Strategy Gurus’ are saying Web 2.0 is all about.

I just returned from the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose, California. I have been attending these conferences for about 8 years now and it amazes me to see how things change over time. It used to be that at these conferences we would literally follow the Yahoo! employees around begging them for more clues as to their newest algorithim. Then at the next conference we would follow the Google employees around asking for clues. (It all depended on which search engine was on top that year). But at this conference things were different. The word ‘algorithim’ was mentioned maybe a handful of times over the entire conference. So what is the buzz these days? Social Networks.

Search Engine Optimization Is Still Important

Now don’t get me wrong, there is still the strong need to optimize your site for the search engines namely Google. The same rules still apply: Have good link back equity, use your keywords in your site and tags, have relevant content, update your content regularly etc. etc. You can learn about all of those techniques that have been around for years by simply doing a search on SEO (this stands for Search Engine Optimization).

Web 2.0 Is All About Social Networks

Web 2.0 is different. The new way (the Web 2.0 way) to get traffic is through social networks. What are social networks? Well, to start here is list given by Wikipedia of all the social networks. There are a ton of social networks! You could also include blogs, forums and Wikis on the list of social networks. Did you know that there are now more blogs on the Web than websites!

How can you too be a Web 2.0 participant?

Start by creating a presence in Facebook. Want to find contacts for your business? Then you should also have a page on LinkedIn. After that you can move on to creating a presence in: Plaxo, Flikr, and MySpace. There are hundreds of Social Networks that cater to anything from travel(travbuddy.com) to finding old classmates (classmates.com) to tracing your genealogy (geni.com).

I would suggest getting a nice picture of yourself, professionally taken if possible, since most of these sites have a space for a picture. It would be a bit tedious to have to go back to each of them and change your picture later on.

And if you don’t already have a blog what are you waiting for?

It is becoming so commonplace now for people to have a blog that blogs actually out number websites on the Internet. The most popular blogging software that I have seen is Word Press. Word Press is a free blogging software that we offer at Apollo Hosting to all of our customers. With one click you can install it in your control panel and start blogging. You can choose from lots of different templates to make your blog your own. There are also lots of ‘plug ins’ that others have written that you can easily install into your blog to do any number of interesting things like adding a google map. We also offer other blogging software like b2evolution or pLog.

You could also create a Wiki, a Forum or a Picture Gallery

Wiki’s are not just for Wikipedia. Anyone can create a Wiki. There are so many social networking tools that you can take advantage of and most of the great ones are free! For example you could create a Wiki using the free software phpWiki, you could create an online photo gallery to show everyone your pictures by using our free tools Coppermine or Gallery. And don’t forget forums which are also easy to create and is a great way to get people talking. The list goes on and on. For a list of all the tools we offer look at our website hosting site tools page.

Link to others, and keep your content fresh

When you start writing your blogs, or creating your Facebook page be sure and link to other social network pages. This is what social networking is all about. They will see that you are linking to them and in turn will probably link back to you. And if you create interesting content others will naturally link to you. Finally, submit your blog to Google Blog and other blog submission sites. You will be amazed at how popular your blog, wiki, or forum will become if you have fun with it and keep it fresh.

Finally My Book Recommendation

I have been reading a great book called ‘Made to Stick’ by Chip Heath & Dan Heath. It is a great book that talks about how to communicate your ideas in a way as to make them memorable and lasting. It’s a very nice continuation to ‘The Tipping Point’ which is one of my favorites. In ‘Made to Stick’ you are reminded of things in life that have ’stuck’. For instance remember the story that a child who was trick or treating and found a razor blade in her apple? Well that story was huge and it created a panic all over the country. The funny thing is that story was just a myth or an urban legend. But it sure did ’stick’. Everyone heard about it, and passed it on. So, how can you communicate your ideas in a similar fashion? Well, don’t create a panic of course, but according to the author just follow these 6 principles of sticky ideas: Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions, and Stories. Basically ‘be simple, and use stories’. I like that!

Good luck and adios for now!

Tamara Field
President, Apollo Hosting, Inc.