Why Web 2.0 is not just for geeks but is important to you the marketer?

What is Mashups,APIs,Widgestisation and Web 2.0? and what is the consideration behind the scenes?

Why Web 2.0 is not just for geeks but is important to you the marketer?
The term web 2.0 itself is still open to debate, for a lot of Internet specialists it doesn't mean anything.


The general idea behind web 2.0 is its social dimension. Whereas Internet used to be only used by companies displaying content for passive users, today anybody can be an Internet contributor. All the blogs, forums and chatrooms are typically web 2.0 oriented because they are participative, allow for social networking and give people a way to express themselves and have their voice heard.


Sites like wikipedia, Flickr or YouTube are web 2.0 sites because they rely on user generated content, i.e. content that is created and provided by Internet users and not only companies or Internet specialists.


For marketers, this is an important thing and for many reasons:


- it opens the door to new marketing possibilites, such as viral marketing or more targeted messages addressed to influent people and opinion leaders identified in those social networks


- it fastens the diffusion of information, so a bad new concerning a company is quickly known worldiwde


- Internet users trust their peers much more than a CEO or a company's spokesman, which will ultimately lead companies to stop bullshiting and realize that they no longer talk to passive and naive consumers!