Real Estate Related August 19, 2008

web 1.0 vs web 2.0

Photo curteasy of Sizlopedia

 

So all this talk about Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 what does it really mean?

In a Web 1.0 world the content in many ways is created and managed by the webmaster and it has a direct message that is controlled and used to try and capture the reader. It is a site that is text heavy and video lite. It can be static in nature and self serving. There is very little outside contribution and ideas and concepts can by over shadowed by the knowledge of the expert controlling the message. It usually is a single dimensional site that is answering a single questions about a single topic. Your audience is someone who is seeing that information only and not interacting.

This is very different form the Web 2.0 world. Wikipedia states web 2.0 as

“Web 2.0 is a term which describes the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies. The term became notable after the first O’Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference in 2004.[2] [3] Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users utilize the Web. According to Tim O’Reilly:”

I’m not sure what that means but here is what I do know. In a Web 2.0 world we have to understand that it is no longer about us but more about our customer’s needs and wants. Our sites need to be interactive and allow for collaboration. We have to let the customer get involved. We are no longer the expert but rather the facilitator of communication on shared ideas and values, and from that we get peer credibility. Our sites need to be dynamic with now information. We are not trying to capture anyone but rather create a place where our users want to come and  share and learn about the information that is being enriched in this new interactive world.

Advergril does a great job with these nine differences between Web 1.0 and 2.0 see here site for visuals.

1. FROM FINDING INFORMATION TO MAKING CONNECTIONS

2. FROM DIRECTED BEHAVIOR TO FINDING BY BROWSING

3. FROM ANSWERS TO CONNECTING TO SUPPORT

4. FROM VALUE PROPOSITIONS TO SIMPLE VALUE

5. FROM READING TO WRITING

6. FROM ACCESSIBLE TO PERSONAL

7. FROM EXPERT VOICE TO PEER CREDIBILITY

8. FROM YOU TO ME

9. FROM CONTENT TO MULTIMEDIA

 So what does this mean for you as a real estate agent. Take a real close look at your website and analyze are you 1.0 or 2.0 and what do you need to do to move into this new look and feel of the 2.0 world. A helpfull sites that can get you some better looks would be

rahmn.com, where they are building sites that are more blog driven and less template driven.