Making the Shift to the New Era of Online Business | Web 3.0 Anyone?

Making the Shift to the New Era of Online Business

Wasn’t it just last year that we all got our arms around Web 2.0? This notion that the web could be interactive, collaborative and generally more interoperable went a long way toward powering the likes of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

We all jumped on the social media bandwagon with the excitement of a busload of sugar-jacked kindergarteners heading for the zoo until someone popped up and asked, “But how do I make money on that?” This sobering question brought it all back into perspective for us, removing the hype and helping to understand just how Web 2.0 can be leveraged to change the way we do business.

Web 3.0 is about Meaningful Information
Though definitions vary, Web 3.0 is often referred to as “Semantic Web.” As the name implies, the idea is to give “meaning” to the information that can be gleaned from the web. Google CEO Eric Schmidt defines it as “applications that are pieced together,” where apps are relatively small, device independent, fast and customizable, and the data is in the cloud.

How does Web 3.0 improve business?
The idea is to make it easier for computers to understand and interpret web-based data. Having machine-understandable “descriptions” of the data will aid search engines and therefore, all of us, in finding relevant, meaningful information that can be put to use for better searches, improved business intelligence and general data mash-ups.

Think of it like adding intelligence and personalization to your search. Now who wouldn’t want that?