A simple way to explain "Web 2.0"

Earlier today I noticed a tweet from former colleague and local web marketing guru Douglas Karr regarding a simple, but excellent way to explain Web 2.0. In it, he linked to Jessica Hagy's blog, where she posted the graphic to the right.

When I first clicked on the link, I was amazed at how surprisingly simple and easy to understand it is. When we try to summarize what Web 2.0 means to people, we often find ourselves over communicating the concept.

Simply put, Web 2.0 permits you to reach an exponential amount of people as you do more Web 2.0 activated functions online. Do more interactive things online > reach people > who reach other people > who reach even more people.

In thinking about this, I decided to propose a different variation on the same theme, giving full acknowledgment to Jessica on stimulating my own thoughts.

Her drawing is great for all of us who already understand what 2.0 is. However, the vast majority of the world still may not get it in the proper context because they still think in a 1.0 mentality. That is, oh...I can just add more pages to my site and poof! more reach.

Um, no.

So, I redrafted the graphic with a specific line to indicate where I see 1.0 thinkers to be. In the item at left, the top item is Jessica's drawing, plus the 1.0 line - which is effectively if you just keep posting content to non-sharing, non-social-network sites and hope people stumble upon it (thank you Google!).

In the world of web marketing, this is the equivelent of just buying more banner ads or links on sites and hoping folks see them and take action: buy more ads on more sites > hope to run across more people.

Now, take the second graphic I drew below Jessica' image (plus my 1.0 line) and turn this into an expense discussion. Aha! Now we're talking about the cost of 1.0 marketing versus the inherent viral opportunity of 2.0.

Hey! If you're trying to educate or influence decision makers in your organization about upping your budget to support a more advanced web strategy, this can be critical! Why? Because with web 2.0 you can do MORE with less to start and once you build momentum, more resources result in not just more results, but EXPONENTIAL results. ooooh!

This is key to communicate that the cost for 2.0 is cheaper initially because it can create a low cost of entry for your company. And then, as success grows you spend more dollars (and that could be in resources, people, vendors, etc.) the increase of people you reach exponentially rockets forward. Web 2.0 is all about momentum...

However, with 1.0 strategies, such as banner ads or sponsorship tiles and traditional media advertising mechanisms, you never get a chance to take off. IE: the more you spend, the more you'll reach. Buy 1,000,000 banners reach X people. Buy 20,000,000 banners and hopefully reach 2 x X people. The problem is, none of those people in the 1.0 world carry forward your brand. Seriously, when was the last time you copied and loaded a banner ad to your site as free promotion for a business you love?

However, in 2.0 world, those dollars can become viral conversations to develop your brand. How many have posted a YouTube video or similar Web 2.0 content element to your blog or site? Ahhh...more hands are raising up.

Result: Bigger return for smaller up front investment, but once you've built your 2.0 audience, the limit of how big it grows is simply your own limit on how much you'll invest. More time > more posts/content > more reach > more hunger for content > consumers share content > more reach > etc.

The key to all of this is strategy of course. Just blogging and posting to YouTube or Flickr isn't enough. You actually need to know what works and how to do it. That's where Mediasauce comes in. (See, you knew there would be propaganda at some point, right?) Our business is built on educating our clients about the opportunities digital media in an interconnected age provides - and we build the blueprint to accomplish your goals.