MRM Worldwide’s digital strategist outlines three key considerations for keeping up with the new online consumer.

by By Dr. Augustine Fou

Web 2.0 has been described as “lots of video,” “cool user interfaces that use javascript,” “social networking,” “word of mouth.” Google, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, etc. have been used as examples, as have countless other companies and terms, correctly or incorrectly. But what really is the essence of this new wave of websites rising from the ashes of the first web implosion? And what are the implications for advertising and marketing?

Web 2.0 versus Web 1.0

Web 1.0 was about the tools which made getting information online easier — HTML, website creation software, standards, internet connections, etc. This led to an explosion of information online and generated the estimated several hundred billion web pages online today. Web 2.0 is about organizing, filtering and prioritizing the vast amounts of information so that the information becomes more useful, timely, and relevant. Web 2.0 was born out of necessity in the current “age of too much information.” It also has profound implications for advertising since advertising messages are part of the clutter and people have accustomed themselves to tuning everything out until such time they are interested in researching something for themselves.

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