A Web 2.0 Strategy - is that a contradiction in terms..? I've been working on a project to remodel our departmental web pages over the last 9 months, due for launch in January. Recent conversations with colleagues have led to requests that the new web site is 'web 2.0'. I have a bit of an issue with this in a few ways.
1. The fact that it is a corporate higher education site means it is pretty much by default web 1.0.
2. When colleagues are talking about web 2.0, they are talking about discussion boards, which isn't in the real sense web 2.0.
3. Most colleagues who are asking for this, seem to be using the latest buzz word, and haven't engaged with web 2.0 at all, yet are hoping that we as a service can understand it, and engage users with it.
4. Some colleagues think it is about particular apps, for example, we should have a facebook policy - so what happens when facebook is bought out or starts charging, or changes dramatically.
Shouldn't it be about why we are using these apps, what they can do for the teaching and learning experience of our students, how we engage communities, how we get feedback, how we watch what is being said about us etc etc....
As yet we don't have a web 2.0 strategy - do you? I get the feeling that by the time we've shared the understanding of what web 2.0 is and written one, we'll be very much into web 3, in which case this may be a pointless exercise!
I'm going to be doing some benchmarking to see if anyone else has one (maybe as a part of the overall web strategy), that I can look over, but I'd be very interested in your views, and what you might be doing at 'your place', HE or otherwise.
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Hmm, interesting post - will have to think this through in new marketing strategy too.
ReplyDelete"
Shouldn't it be about why we are using these apps, what they can do for the teaching and learning experience of our students, how we engage communities, how we get feedback, how we watch what is being said about us etc etc...." - yep, sounds good to me!
Perhaps 'Web 2.0' is a (partial) description of the environment we're in, more than a way of working? A bit like climate change or the credit crunch.
Web 2.0 has no beginning and no end.
ReplyDeleteIt's just another word to describe social media and rounded logos with reflections :P
I agree with all these sentiments. We all seem to mis-use the expression Web 2.0, and there seems to be too much importance on putting the 'Web 2.0' label on things. Especially us Library types. It must be our 'cataloguing' gene.
ReplyDeleteIf an interactive Website is what is desired, then that's exactly what it is. I think we can spend too much energy on trying to work in and justify social Web stuff into our communications and teaching and learning activities and strategies. Social Web applications should be treated as 'nice to haves', rather than strategic instruments.
If it works, it works. Great! If it doesn't....No big deal,...try something else!
Sometimes we just have to educate people on what exactly our company needs...I agree that a lot of people use the web2.0 and don't have a clue as to what it really means...they hear this from colleagues and from a conversation or two think they know all about a new technology or business.
ReplyDeleteYou will be the best judge of what is best for your own company...keep up the good work.