Web 2.0 - is it at a financially viable tipping point?

I've been looking at Web 2.0 sites more following downloading the excellent Flock browser which is one of the best that I've seen for handling all my social media and RSS needs. Though I've been noticing some simialrities between Web 1.0 and 2.0 - in that there is a lot of money probably being put in by venture capitalists into these sites I didn't realise how many sites there where out there until I say the directory of web 2.0 sites that some one has compiled at go2web20.

I don't think even allowing for the incredible growth of this market, that all these sites are going to be taken over by Google/Microsoft et al - so some of these are going to either fold or consolidate over the next year or so especially as the credit crunch bites in the global economy. I've tended to stick with social media that I think is likely to make it through either because of it's connections with large players - or it's ability to stand on its own financially (in my unsophisticated opinion.

Just something for you to think about when using social media for something work related. Being cuatious I have both browser and social bookmarking for all my bookmarks just in case one of the SM sites folds.

Social Bookmarking - a easy to understand video

From time to time in this blog I've used Lee Lefevers excellent animations at Commoncraft to get over to people some of the basic principles of social bookmarking. I've used it now for the best part of 24 months and use this instead of book marks on my own web browsers.  If you were like me a novice at social bookmarking, then this is a very good primer.

For me I can definitely see this having a use within a Enterprise setting - imagine that you have a skills based community covering an issue. There are no doubt web sites that cover this issue and you can save these social bookmarks to a group using a tag. As an example I am a member of a Mac user group. A number of us have set up a group and lets call it WMUG. By using a tag called for:WMUG everyone who subscribes to that group can see what people have posted as a bookmark - how it has been tagged but of course you can also see what bookmarks they have as well as those that they are really interested in.

The tags are also useful as they utilise the language that people who are interested in a particular issue say macs will talk, such as Leopard, Finder, Dock, Stacks, Time Machine. This is what is known as a folksonomy and breaks away from a taxonomic structure and gets people to use the language of their issue or interest.

I'd like to see this tried to support a community of practice or whatever name your organisation calls it. once again it breaks through the rigidity of corporate intranets and allows people of a certain interest to share information that they have found on the net.  I'm not decrying corporate intranets they do have a place within the organisation and maybe within the organisations own intranet, there are useful articles that can be tagged and shared within people within the organisation using a social bookmarking tool.

Enjoy the video and if you do share it, then ensure that you give Lee and Commoncraft the credit they deserve and consider how an easy social bookmarking might be used in your business