How Companies Use Social Tools And Wikis To Achieve Enterprise Objectives

Enterprise 2.0 strategies are slowly becoming more prevalent in organisations and their business strategies. Coined by Andrew McAfee in 2006, Enterprise 2.0 is described as the application of Web 2.0 to the enterprise (Newman, Thomas & Ebrary, 2009). In other words, it is the strategic integration of Web 2.0 stratiegies and technologies such as social networking, RSS and wikis, into the enterprise (TechTarget, 2014). Many organisations use social tools to achieve enterprise objectives; such companies include Motorola and Red Ant.

ILOG

There are many comanys that use social tools and wikis to achieve enterprise objects. Such companies include BBC, Google, Lockheed Martin, ILOG, Motorola etc. These companies are deploying the tools of emergent collaboration and adopting the technologies and philosophies of Web 2.0 (McAfee, 2010). These companies achieve this by generating and sharing knowledge and keeping knowledge up to date in dynamic environments (McAfee, 2010).  ILOG is an international software company that installed a wiki in 1999 and is now composed of 37 000 web pages and has over 700 users (Openness and Authorship) (Buffa, 2006). This is an example of Openness and Authorship in the enterprise. There are four different zones, each one running a wiki. The four wikis are the R&D wiki, the Global wiki, the External wiki and the Wiki for employee representatives, an example of Acting Globally in relation to Wikinomics business model principles (Buffa, 2006). The roles of the four wikis as established by Buffa, 2006, are

1. The R&D wiki: free read and write access for all members of the R&D division but not accessible to other ILOG employees
2. Global wiki: read access for all ILOG employees and a majority of pages have freee read/write access
3. External wiki: accessible externally from outside the company
4. Wiki for employee representatives: located on an isolated server

The four different zones were created by ILOG’s WebCore team in order to protect documents and adopt a global protection system (Buffa, 2006). The wiki enabled ILOG to increase productivity, sharing of information and making knowledge easier to access and search.

Red Ant

Red Ant is a web design and development firm that creates and builds digital products (1 Red Ant, 2014). Red Ant uses a wiki as a repository for storing information, collaboration and sharing tool. Red Ant utilises the wiki to store meeting note, present visual designs, share code, client access to desings and prototypes, present feedback and stats analysis in real-time etc (2 Red Ant, 2014 & Erinoff, 2011). The wiki also includes external parties and has also become the main interface with connecting with customers (2 Red Ant, 2014). The software used is Confluence, developed by Atlassian. The organisation uses a central editing model and aimed to create flexible communication, both within the company and with clients (2 Red Ant, 2014 & Erinoff, 2011).

Red Ant’s utilisation of Confluence and the wiki has helped them achieve Enterprise 2.0 objectives, mainly increasing their productivity by making collaboration easier and team work more effective, made innovation and product development faster by sharing information and data and improved their staff engagement by enhancing internal communication. The main outcomes resulting from the integration of the wiki were stronger communication both internally and externally, centralised data saves and time and the empowerment of team members (Erinoff, 2011). In relation to the Wikinomics business model, the organisation uses Peering and Sharing by using Confluence and collaborating and sharing their intellectual property and content on the wiki.

Both of these companies use social tools to engage staff and increase productivity within the enterprise. Additionally, external benefits can be received by using social tools such as wikis. By using social tools, companies can attain business goals and enterprise objectives.

 

Thanks for reading

Laura

 

References

McAfee, A. (2010). Enterprise 2.0. The Canadian Manager, 35(1), 19-20,3. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/846793494?accountid=13380

Newman, A., Thomas, J., & Ebrary. (2009). Enterprise 2.0 implementation. New York: McGraw-Hill.

TechTarget. (2014). Enterprise 2.0. Retrieved from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Enterprise-20

BBC. (2014). Inside the BBC: Mission and values. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/whoweare/mission_and_values/

IBM. (2014). About IBM. Retrieved from http://www.ibm.com/ibm/au/en/

Red Ant. (2014). Red Ant. Retrieved from http://www.redant.com.au/

Red Ant. (2014). How we Wiki. Retrieved from http://www.redant.com.au/agile/how-we-wiki/

Erinoff, E. G. (2011). Case Study: Community of Practice Based on a Wiki.

Buffa, M. (2006). Intranet wikis. In Proceedings of the Intraweb Workshop, 15th International Conference on World Wide Web, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Tools For Creating Meaningful Posts And Obtaining Readership

For organisational blogs, the amount of followers, subscription and readership statistics are paramount in analysing the size of the customer base and subsequently how much market share the company has. This post aims to teach users how to create sententious, purposeful posts to capture your target audience.

Strategies and tips for gaining readers and popularity

1. Define the purpose of your blog

Creating a clear, concise purpose or mission for your blog helps define your target audience, keep consistency amongst posts and also influences how your posts are structured (Smith, 2013). For example, the purpose of this blog is to educate and to discuss Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 trends and to help readers understand how Web 2.0 is influencing the functionality of businesses and organisations in today’s society. However, the purpose of your blog might be very different from mine. You might be using your blog as a business tool to promote your product to your audience, or you might wish to create a personal blog and post things that interest you. Whatever the purpose, ensure you create relevant and consistent posts for your readers. If you have created a fashion blog but make a post about dogs, you will confuse your readers on the theme of your blog. Therefore, it is in your best interest to be consistent with your posts and ensure they will be informative and useful to your audience.

2. Post regularly

Posting regularly to your blog is imperative to maintain your reader base. If you are inactive for a certain number of months, readers will lose interest in your blog and unsubscribe (Smith, 2013 & Guardian News, 2014). Sometimes there is a maximum amount of blogs you can follow. For example, every Twitter account can only follow two thousand accounts (Twitter Inc, 2014). This may seem like a large amount but this can influence users to become selective when following accounts. If you are not updating regularly, you may find that your readers may unfollow you.

3. Use SEO tactics

Search engine optimisation, also known as SEO, is a methodology of tactics used to increase the visibility of a website by making it easier to find through a search engine (QuinStreet Inc, 2014). Using key words in your posts that readers will use to search for information will ensure that your blog is on the top ten of their search results (Smith 2013 & King, 2014). This blog post, written by Eric Siu, 2012, is quite useful if you wish to use SEO tactics to bring more visitors and traffic to your blog.

4. Layout, language and spell-checking

The aesthetic of your blog is important because readers are incredibly visual and will determine whether they will read your whole post. If your post looks too difficult to read or the font is small and complicated, your readers will be put-off and will find another post that is easier to decipher. Dot-points, titles, simple paragraphs and images will allow your audience to read your post easily and gain the information they need (Guardian News, 2014).

Additionally, spell-checking and language is also important in blog posts (Smith, 2013 & Guardian News, 2014). Make sure you use language that suits your audience. Most readers who go to blog posts for information are looking for simple language and words to help them understand something better, as opposed to complicated terminology found in articles from Google Scholar. Furthermore, using correct spelling will help your readers understand the point of your post and will also leave a lasting impression of the professionalism of your blog.

5. Get personal and socialise

Make sure to get personal and socialise. Communicate with your audience and encourage communication and collaboration. Users have the option to comment on your post. Utilise this feature to your advantage by gaining insights into their opinions as well as communicate with your end consumer/reader. Interaction will also lead to readership loyalty and will help you establish a relationship with your audience. Additionally, sharing your posts on other websites such as Twitter or Facebook will also help you extend your reader base.

Blogging platforms and recommendations

There is a large pool of blogging platforms you can use to create your blog. Some of my favourite blogging platforms are Tumblr and WordPress. Tumblr is a great blogging platform to get started with. It’s driven on user-content and it’s easy to interact with other users. The GIFs and photosets are quite beautiful and it’s very easy to find blogs and tags that are similar to your interests. WordPress is another fantastic, free blogging platform available for users. I have found WordPress to be a very useful resource that allows you to find information and connect with other users. WordPress is a great blogging platform because the simple functions make blogging easy for first-time users. If you want to learn more about the blogging platforms available, I recommend reading Jon Russel’s post, 2014, for a list of blogging platforms you can use.

Some blogs I heavily endorse are Humans of New York and Heather Poole’s blog. Humans of New York is a wonderful blog which talks about everyday people’s lives. The photography, followed by quotes from the subject, is one of the reasons why I find the blog so appealing. It’s aesthetic is simple and the subject matter concerning real, everyday people talking about the spectacular experiences they’ve had is incredibly captivating. Additionally, for any of my readers who have been bit by the travelling bug, I recommend Heather Poole’s blog without hesitation. She posts a lot about being a flight attendant and travelling on flights. Her posts are always informative and help readers with the hardships of travelling. It is a lovely, informative blog and is great for people who love flying and travelling.

 

Thank you for reading

Laura

 

References

QuinStreet Inc. (2014). What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Retrieved from http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/SEO.html

King, C. (2014). 39 Blogging Tips From the Pros. Retrieved from http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/39-blogging-tips/

Guardian News. (2014). Top tips for a successful blog. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/culture-professionals-blog/2011/nov/17/top-tips-successful-blog

Smith, J. (2013). 14 Ways To Make Your Blog Get Real Attention. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/08/06/14-ways-to-make-your-blog-get-real-attention/

Russell, J. (2013). The 15 best blogging and publishing platforms on the Internet today. Which one is for you? Retrieved from http://thenextweb.com/apps/2013/08/16/best-blogging-services/

Twitter Inc. (2014). Why can’t I follow people? Retrieved from https://support.twitter.com/articles/66885-why-can-t-i-follow-people

Siu, E. (2012). 5 Effective SEO Tactics That Will Bring You More Traffic. Retrieved from http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/effective-seo-tactics-that-will-bring-you-more-traffic

Image References

DigitalSherpa. (2014). Digital Sherpa Social Media & Content Marketing Blog. Retrieved from http://www.digitalsherpa.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/blog_post.jpg

Tips & Tricks. (2014). Tips & Tricks. Retrieved from http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2s1Uk1gHjFA/UTNAOsUzhoI/AAAAAAAADtk/ohhfp7KC4XM/s1600/blogging+platforms+logos.jpg

Twitter And Lightweight Models And Cost-Effective Scalability

What Is Lightweight Models & Cost-Effective Scalability?

Scalability is an important aspect of Web 2.0, applying to both business models and the technologies that implement them. It is optimal to adopt a scalable, cost-effective strategy which includes business and development models, and the available technologies associated with them, to deliver good-quality, cheaper products to the specific market in an efficient way and still allowing the potential of future growth.

There are multiple benefits with adopting lightweight models and cost-effective scalability strategies, some main benefits including the a reduction of risk with project and product failure so there is less chance of downtime which can cause a detrimental effect on the business because of the effect it has both customers and business, greater adaptability and easier integration with other services and traditional cost reduction.

A current Web 2.0 application that uses lightweight models and cost-effective scalability is Twitter.

What Is Twitter?

Twitter is a micro-blogging and social networking service that allows users to connect with a range of other users on an international scale. Twitter is fairly similar to Facebook but instead of having the option to post long statuses, Twitter users must post small messages that are no longer than 140 characters which are called tweets. Users can follow certain tags or people depending on their interests. Additionally, Twitter enables people to connect with famous people such as actors and musicians. Twitter also allows for businesses to connect to their customers real-time, receiving feedback, comments and establishing a relationship with customers and partners (3 Twitter, 2013). By using Twitter, businesses can promote their products and services on an international scale effectively.

Twitter employs many best practices to its advantage. Twitter scales with demand and according to this article on TechCrunch Twitter passed 500 million users in June 2012 with approximately 141.8 million of them living in the United States (Lunden, 2012). Popular users such as celebrities and organizations in the television industry such as 9News and Can Of Worms help Twitter market virally by using their service and encouraging other users to interact them via the site.

Twitter syndicates business models by enabling enterprises to build all or part of their business on top of components from other services as well as implement functions with their business by providing code and tutorials. For example, users can sign into Twitter Developer and have access to discussion forums with other developers as well as documentation to assist with creating Twitter functions such as embedded Twitter timelines using widgets or Twitter buttons.

An issue I find with Twitter is that some people abuse the service. Some Twitter users can be quite negative and hateful. Even though this is a risk with any social networking service, Twitter is public and you don’t have to be a registered user to see someone’s timeline. An example of this is how some users send hateful tweets to celebrities on Twitter.

Twitter is a great social networking platform, especially for businesses. One future implementation they could do is somehow integrate Youtube into their service so if you want to tweet a video, users can watch it on Twitter instead of being redirected to the Youtube site.

 

Thanks for reading!

Laura ❤

 

References

1 Twitter. (2013). Embedded Timelines | Twitter Developers. Retrieved from https://dev.twitter.com/docs/embedded-timelines

2 Twitter. (2012). Twitter. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/

3 Twitter. (2013). Twitter. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/about

4 Twitter (2013). Twitter Developers. Retrieved from https://dev.twitter.com/

9 News Brisbane. (2013). Nine News Brisbane (9NewsBrisbane) on Twitter. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/9NewsBrisbane

Can Of Worms. (2013). Can Of Worms (canofwormstv) on Twitter. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/canofwormstv

Lunden, I. (2012, June 30). Analyst: Twitter Passed 500M Ysers Ub Hybe 2012, 140M of Them In US; Jakarta ‘Biggest Tweeting’ City | TechCrunch. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/30/analyst-twitter-passed-500m-users-in-june-2012-140m-of-them-in-us-jakarta-biggest-tweeting-city/

O’Reilly, T. (2005). What Is Web 2.0 – O’Reilly Media. Retrieved from http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1

eBay And Leveraging The Long Tail

What Is The Long Tail?

(Anderson, n.d.).

The internet is becoming more predominant. It is driving a shift to limitless choices and niche markets due to its enabling of infinite shelf space and decreasing the cost of production and distribution.

Chris Anderson describes the long tail in this article which states “our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of ‘hits’ (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve and towards a huge number of niches in the tail. As the costs of production and distribution fall, especially online, there is now less need to lump products and consumers into one-size-fits-all containers” (Anderson, n.d.).

Web 2.0 technologies need to adapt to this shift and infinite space by using best practices to leverage customer-self service and algorithmic data management to extent to the entire web and long tail (O’Reilly, 2005).

There are several Web 2.0 technologies that leverage the long tail, one example being eBay.

What Is eBay?

eBay is a shopping, commerce and auctioning website that connects people together on a local, national and international scale (2 eBay Inc, 2013). eBay users can sell or buy a variety of items on the website, some examples of the categories they include being cars, clothing, computers etc.

eBay employs many best practices to leverage the long tail. eBay builds on the driving forces of the long tail such as allowing users to buy and sell a variety of items. These items are usually cheaper than what they are in stores or are not sold in the consumer’s country, which is why eBay has such a large customer base. Additionally, the large range of items for sale on eBay helps target and appeal to niche markets.

eBay employs an algorithmic data management and architecture of participation practice to match supply and demand. Consumers are recommended items on their previous searches as well as offering popular items on their homepage based on the consumer’s recent activity.

eBay has self service models to allow their customers to manage their own accounts. This provides customers with more control over their information and reduces support costs, allowing eBay to leverage customer self-service in a cost-effective way.

eBay is constantly trying to improve and leverage the long tail. As shown in this article, eBay purchased Hunch in 2011 to improve long tail shopping recommendations to result in more “more meaningful discoveries, more stickiness to the site, and ultimately more buying and selling” which has helped eBay effectively implement the algorithmic data management and architecture of participation practice to its application to try and gain a strategic advantage over other Web 2.0 applications (Eldon, 2011). However, there are some issues with eBay, such as scams and frauds. Some users might get fake items instead of authentic items and similarly there may be users on eBay that will try to take advantage of unsuspecting customers (consumerangels, n.d.). Customers should always be aware of the issues with eBay. For more information, see the 10 Top Ebay Con…A Guide To Common Frauds On eBay.

 

Thanks for reading

Laura ❤

 

References

Anderson C. (n.d.). About Me. Retrieved from http://www.thelongtail.com/about.html

consumerangels. (n.d.). 10 TOP EBAY CONS…A GUIDE TO COMMON FRAUDS ON EBAY. Retrieved from http://www.ebay.com/gds/10-top-ebay-cons-a-guide-to-common-frauds-on-ebay/10000000002145432/g.html

1 eBay Inc. (2013). eBay: The World’s Online Marketplace. Retrieved from http://pages.ebay.com/aboutebay/thecompany/companyoverview.html

2 eBay, Inc. (2013). eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home decor. Retrieved from http://www.ebay.com.au/

Eldon, E. (2011). eBay Buys Hunch To Improve Long-Tail Shopping Recommendations | TechCrunch. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/21/ebayshunch/

O’Reilly, T. (2005). What Is Web 2.0 – O’Reilly Media. Retrieved from http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1

Delicious And Perpetual Beta

What Does Perpetual Beta Mean?

Tim O’Reilly, 2005, describes the perpetual beta as seeing programs and devices as ongoing services when they are connected to the internet, as opposed to software artifacts (O’Reilly, 2005). This perspective encourages software to be developed in a more innovative way by adding new features regularly and allowing users to engage with the software as real-time testers. Additionally, O’Reilly states “The open source dictum, ‘release early and release often’ in fact has morphed into an even more radical position, ‘the perpetual beta,’ in which the product is developed in the open, with new features slipstreamed in on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis” (O’Reilly, 2005).

There are many Web 2.0 services that utilise the perpetual beta pattern to their advantage to provide users with good web applications and software. One example that uses this pattern is Delicious.

What Is Delicious?

Delicious is a free tool available to users that allows them to save, organize, and manage links they find on the internet. Users can save their links anywhere on their phone or tablet by visiting the main site or downloading the app.

Delicious ‘releases early and releases often’ by using innovative and flexible methodologies to fix bugs and improve the service. On their blog site, they announce big updates to the main site, their API etc. One change they’ve done recently is implementing a new feature that allows users to sign in with their Twitter or Facebook (jessie, 2013).

Delicious also engages their users as co-developers and real-time testers by recording user behavior as an accurate model for assessing their features and to see how they interact and use the site. Additionally, there have been multiple studies focusing on analysing user behavior across social sharing environments and leveraging tagging to model user interests in Delicious. Delicious also encourages feedback from its users. A few years ago, Delicious was receiving some negative feedback from users on their Facebook page but responded proactively and positively to the critiques and went about to improve their product (markjowen, 2011).

Issues And Improvements

There are some privacy issues when Delicious starts recording and profiling user behaviour but this can be said with all applications. For example Flickr developed a ‘loneliest users’ report that identified some users that were not inviting their friends to join the service and I wouldn’t be comfortable knowing that one of the services I use have put me under a category called ‘loneliest user,’ but then again that’s just my opinion on the matter and now that I think about it, the title is probably just a (somewhat humorous and sad) means to record their user behaviour data. Most applications use some sort of algorithm or method to see how users interact with the service so they can improve on certain features etc.

Some improvements they could do with this service is use a more effective way to search for specific tags. I know some people use a lot of tags and sometimes I just want to see something specific. Unfortunately Delicious doesn’t quite employ this well enough and have them in a list on the side. You can use the selection feature but I find that it’s a little slow and complicated to use and produces inaccurate results.

 

Thanks for reading!

Laura 😀

 

References

AVOS. (2013). Capture the web you’ve been missing – Delicious. Retrieved from https://delicious.com/

Delicious Blog. (2013). Delicious Blog. Retrieved from http://blog.delicious.com/

Delicious. (2013). Delicious. Retrieved from http://www.facebook.com/delicious

Ferrara, E. De Meo, P. Abel, F. Aroyo, L. & Houben, G. (n.d.). Analyzing User Behavior across Social Sharing Environments. Retrieved from http://www.emilio.ferrara.name/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/tist2012.pdf

jessie. (2013, March 28). Springing Forward at Delicious | Delicious Blog [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://blog.delicious.com/2013/03/springing-forward-delicious/

markjowen. (2011, March 10). Delicious’ tasteful reaction to negative feedback | MarkjOwen’s Blog [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://markjowen.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/delicious-tasteful-reaction-to-negative-feedback/

O’Reilly, T. (2005). What Is Web 2.0 – O’Reilly Media. Retrieved from http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1

Stoyanovich, J. Amer-Yahia, S. Marlow, C. & Yu, C. (2008). Leveraging Tagging to Model User Interests in del.icio.us. Retrieved from http://www.ischool.drexel.edu/faculty/jstoy/documents/Tagging_Interest.pdf

 

Spotify And Software Above The Level Of A Single Device

Software Above The Level Of A Single Device

In this technologically-driven era, mobile devices, applications and cloud computing are becoming more imperative as time progresses. Tim O’Reilly explains that Web 2.0 is “no longer limited to the PC platform” and there are now other devices that have been updated to allow for internet access (O’Reilly, 2005). Because of this implementation, people now use a variety of devices to connect to the internet.

In order for a Web 2.0 application to be successful, the application must acknowledge the variety of devices and platforms out there by utilising data-synchronisation and availability across different mediums. Similarly, Web 2.0 applications can obtain an advantage by leveraging pervasiveness to broadening their markets and customer base.

A good example of a Web 2.0 application that leverages pervasiveness to its advantage is Spotify.

What Is Spotify?

Spotify allows the user to access millions of songs from their mobile phones and tablets (Apple Inc, 2012). Users can search for artists, songs or albums and start playing the song on their device.

Spotify comes in three versions, Free, Unlimited, and Premium. Spotify Free allows users to listen to unlimited, free, ad-supported music on their desktop or computer, Spotify Unlimited is the same as the Free version without advertisements for $6.99AU a month and Spotify Premium gives users access to exclusive content, competitions, and music both online and offline on a variety of devices including mobile phones, tablets, and other devices at $11.99AU (Spotify Ltd, 2012).

Spotify leverages pervasiveness to its advantage by extending the Web 2.0 to devices and enabling users to listen to music anywhere using their mobile devices with the app available on iTunes and Android. Spotify also levarages devices as data and rich media sources by allowing users to share music or search their friend’s music collections and having the ability to create their own music collection and listen to the Spotify radio (Spotify Ltd, 2013).

Spotify And Apple iTunes Store

Spotify offers users to pay monthly while users of Apple iTunes Store typically pay per purchase. Prices of the content on the iTunes Store varies, but typically buying one song usually costs around one to two Australian dollars. Spotify is generally cheaper, and also comes with a Free version, but it depends on the person’s individual purchasing behaviour. If you don’t buy much music, then the iTunes Store would be recommended. However, if you buy a lot of music, then Spotify would be cheaper and more beneficial long-term.

What I think is a really great innovation on Apple’s part is that they have utilised their product Apple TV with AirPlay, allowing users with Apple TV to wirelessly stream content from their iPhone, iPad etc. to their TV (). If users have Spotify installed on their Apple devices, they are able to stream their music onto their TV. It’s this sort of integration between devices that really gives Apple a strategic advantage. People who do not have Apple products would not be able to use this feature. However, there is WD TV Live available for those who wish to use their TV but they must have the Premium version.

 

Thanks for reading ❤

Laura 🙂

 

References

Apple Inc. (2012). Spotify for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad on the iTunes App Store. Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/spotify/id324684580?mt=8

Apple Inc. (2013). Apple – Apple TV – What is Apple TV. Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/au/appletv/what-is/

O’Reilly, T. (2005). What Is Web 2.0 – O’Reilly Media. Retrieved from http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1

Spotify Ltd. (2011). A world of music on your TV – Spotify. Retrieved from https://www.spotify.com/au/wdtv/

Spotify Ltd. (2012, May 21). G’day Australia. Spotify here. – Spotify [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.spotify.com/au/blog/archives/2012/05/21/gday-australia-spotify-here/

Spotify Ltd. (2013). Music for every moment – Spotify. Retrieved from https://www.spotify.com/au/ 

Gumtree And Rich User Experience

What Is Rich User Experience Mean?

Previously, web pages were static. However, in this technological-driven era, web pages and Internet applications have combined services if desktop and online user experiences to improve their service. According to O’Reilly, 2005, web applications with rich user interfaces and PC-equivalent interactivity was first utilised by Google when they introduces Gmail and Google Maps (O’Reilly, 2005). It’s these web applications that provide a more compelling experience for users that are causing other web application services to transition from a desktop interface model to an online model.

A web application which has a rich user interface and maximises all of the benefits of  combining the best of online and offline experiences to create new opportunities is Gumtree.

What Is Gumtree?

Gumtree is an Australian local classified ads and community site that allows users to post adds and connect with other people and users (2 eBay International AG, 2013). Users can search for numerous items they are interested in, some examples being jobs, pets, cars etc. Gumtree combines web services together and has similar functions to SEEK, Realestate, and eBay which gives it an advantage over competitor web applications.

Gumtree combines the best of desktop and online experiences by being dependent on user engagement and fast performance, as well as providing collaboration and interaction amongst users to reply by email or phone, as well as utilising social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Google+ for further effective advertising offline and away from the Gumtree website.

As shown in the screenshot below, Gumtree uses a search over structure practice that presents the user with a view of what content is available on the website. Similarly, this search tool allows users to find what they want more quickly and efficiently, rather than going to find something specific through numerous links and web pages.

Gumtree also uses a deep, adaptive personalisation. The application dynamically learns the behaviour of the user by recalling previous searches and provides quick links so the user can access the information easily. Additionally, Gumtree records the user’s behaviour and wants by what they search and choose to view. Gumtree recommends certain posts for the user according to what they had previously searched or viewed, helping improve the value of their service. This feature of the application is shown in the screenshot below.

However, some people may see the adaptive personalisation practice as an invasion of privacy, especially if other people use the same computer and terminal and also use the website. For example, Gumtree has a dating feature, and this link could be shown in the recommended or previously searched activity which users can see this as a breach of privacy. On that note, caution is advised when meeting people online, which is a standard for any dating website available today.

 

Thanks for reading!

Laura 🙂

 

References

1 eBay International AG. (2013). Free Local Classifieds Ads from Brisbane Region Australia – Gumtree. Retrieved from http://www.gumtree.com.au/

2 eBay International AG. (2013). Gumtree Australia – What is Gumtree? Retrieved from https://help.gumtree.com.au/knowledgebase.php?article=208

eBay Inc. (2013). eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home decor. Retrieved from http://www.ebay.com.au/

O’Reilly, T. (2005). What Is Web 2.0 – O’Reilly Media. Retrieved from http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1

REA Group Ltd. (2013). Rental Properties, Homes for Rent and Apartments to Lease – realestate.com.au. Retrieved from http://www.realestate.com.au/rent

SEEK. (2013). SEEK – Australia’s no. 1 jobs, employment, career and recruitment site. Retrieved from http://www.seek.com.au/

Tumblr

Innovation In Assembly

Websites are evolving from static to dynamic to platforms. As a consequence, businesses should take advantage of this evolution by creating platform strategies as well as application strategies to improve the efficiency and value of their service.

I’ve already talked about Photobucket in detail in my previous post, but I’d like to explore how this web platform compares to another popular Web 2.0 platform, Tumblr.

What Is Tumblr?

Tumblr is a social networking and blogging web platform that enables users to post statuses and information, reblog from other users on the websites, as well as like and comment on other posts. Also, Tumblr uses other social interaction websites to their advantage like allowing users of the service to reblog posts to Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.

Photobucket And Tumblr

I found a few similarities with Photobucket and Tumblr in regards to their API and how they effectively apply the pattern of ‘Innovation In Assembly,’ as defined by O’Reilly. Like I talked about in my previous post about Photobucket, Tumblr uses APIs to their advantage in a similar way by giving users the option to share information on Tumblr by reblogging it to their Facebook, Twitter etc. Additionally, consumers can use other services on Tumblr for example posting a Youtube video that can be played on the website and providing a link to the URL on Youtube.

By publically displaying Tumblr’s API to the public, Tumblr encourages designers and developers using Tumblr to invent new forms of creative expression and continuously tries to expand their customer base and target audience. According to Tumblr’s API page, “the API supports the OAuth 1.0a Protocol, accepting paramenters via the Authorisation header, with the HMAC-SHA1 signature method only” (1 Tumblr Inc, 2012). The service uses URI structure and the URI path, the path depending on the type of request by the user also uses response formatting, the API returning JSON-encoded objects (1 Tumblr Inc, 2012).

Check out Tumblr’s API page for more information about Tumblr’s API.

Another similarity between these two Web 2.0 services are their designs for remixability. Tumblr and Photobucket both utilize RSS feeds to give users a quick and efficient way to search posts and certain posts, as well as monitor activity. Tumblr makes content and information available to repost and download in practical units. Also, they have a few restrictions on how many posts the user can reblog in one day, as well as how many times they upload to their own personal blog.

Issues With Tumblr

The issues associated with Tumblr are the same with Photobucket. There are plagiarism issues amongst issues, for example a user posting another user’s creation without linking to the creator or giving credit. However, this seems to be sorted quickly amongst the users and it is rare to see Tumblr get involved with the issue.

Tumblr is a great platform and users can has a large community. It is very simple and easy to find other users who have the same interests. Tumblr has a very straightforward layout and it is easy for users to customise their own Tumblr and blog. The mobile app for Tumblr is also easy to read and navigate through, something that Photobucket lacks.

 

Thanks for reading!

Laura 🙂

 

References:

O’Reilly, T. (2005). What Is Web 2.0 – O’Reilly Media. Retrieved from http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1

1 Tumblr Inc. (2012). API | Tumblr. Retrieved from http://www.tumblr.com/docs/en/api/v2

2 Tumblr Inc. (2012). Tumblr. Retrieved from https://www.tumblr.com/login

Photobucket And Innovation In Assembly

What Does Innovation In Assembly Mean?

As information technology is becoming more ingrained into our everyday lives, the web as a consequence is evolving and becoming a platform to replace desktop operating systems. O’Reilly states “the Web 2.0 mindset is good at re-use,” describing how value can be created by assembling components in effective ways, for example how a new service can be created by combining two existing services together (O’Reilly, 2005).  Websites are becoming platforms and it would be an advantage for businesses to consider a platform strategy in addition to an application strategy because Web 2.0 provides companies a way to harness and integrate existing services in innovative ways.

Application programming interfaces, also known as APIs, are the core of any software platform strategy and are defined by TechTerms.com, 2013, as “a set of commands, functions, and protocols which programmers can use when building software for a specific operating system” (TechTerms.com, 2013). APIs can be very valuable, one benefit being the ability to foster third party innovation. A service that uses APIs to their advantage and uses platform strategies is Photobucket.

What Is Photobucket?

Photobucket is a free image hosting website that allows the user to upload, share and edit photos and images. Also, users can browse Photobucket to view images other user’s have uploaded and can furthermore comment, like, download, or share the image on Facebook, Twitter etc.

Photobucket uses APIs to their advantage by enabling users to share photos to social network sites such as Facebook, Pinterest, Yahoo, Twitter and also email. Photobucket has released its API to the public so users can have programmatic access to images, files, and videos on the web platform. The API will allow developers to do numerous functions, some examples being able to create, edit and access albums, share content via email, and access and update metadata (Yee, 2008).

The web service designs for remixability by providing multiprotocol support to broaden its target audience as well as employing Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds and data formats like XML. Photobucket uses Representational State Transfer (REST) API that also supports OAuth, an open standard for authorization (Yee, 2008). Additionally, by integrating RSS feeds, it gives the user a quick way to update notices, deliver feeds of product categories and searches, and monitor activity.

Issues With Photobucket

There are a few issues associated with Photobucket. Photobucket does not offer any privacy in regards to printing. If users want to print anything available on Photobucket, the order will be sent to a third party for printing (TechMediaNetwork, 2013). Similarly, by making the image content on Photobucket available to download as a way to design the service platform for remixability, I can see that this might cause a potential plagiarism issue amongst users.

However, Photobucket is an excellent service platform that encourages sharing of the website’s content. What I like about Photobucket is that it doesn’t only focus on Facebook and Twitter, but other sharing websites such as Pinterest. The only future direction for this website I could think of is for Photobucket to improve the layout for the mobile website. When I opened the Photobucket website on my smartphone, I had little idea as to how to progress through the home page. Making the mobile website more user-friendly and simple would be beneficial for the application. Also, the service should think about making the images a little larger so users can enjoy and browse through the images more easily and efficiently.

 

Thanks for reading!

Laura 🙂

 

References

O’Reilly, T. (2005). What Is Web 2.0 – O’Reilly Media. Retrieved from http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1

Photobucket. (2013). Photo and image hosting, free photo galleries, photo editing. Retrieved from http://photobucket.com/

ProgrammableWeb.com. (2013). Photobucket API Profile. Retrieved from http://www.programmableweb.com/api/photobucket

TechMediaNetwork. (2013). Photobucket 2013 | Pros & Cons of Photobucket – TopTenREVIEWS. Retrieved from http://online-image-hosting-review.toptenreviews.com/photobucket-review.html

TechTerms.com. (2013). API (Application Program Interface) Definition. Retrieved from http://www.techterms.com/definition/api

Yee, R. (2008). Photobucket Releases Public API. Retrived from http://blog.programmableweb.com/2008/05/01/photobucket-releases-public-api/

TripAdvisor And Data Is The Next ‘Intel Inside’

What Does Data Being The Next ‘Intel Inside’ Mean?

Successful Web 2.0 applications use unique data sources to become the next ‘Intel Inside’ so data becomes as imperative as the service’s utility.  The value of the data is a key foundation of a Web 2.0 service’s success.  Every reputable internet application is supported by a specialised database (O’Reilly, 2005). Tim O’Reilly, 2005, corroborates in saying “database management is a core competency of Web 2.0 companies, so much so that we have sometimes referred to these applications as infoware rather than merely software” (O’Reilly, 2005).

A Web 2.0 application that acknowledges the importance of data that I have used on occasions when I am travelling overseas is a website called TripAdvisor.

What Is TripAdvisor?

TripAdvisor is a website that allows you to search via search engine for a variety of services such as hotels, flights, holiday rentals, restaurants, and destinations that you might need when planning a holiday or trip overseas.

TripAdvisor uses framework and access strategies, focussing on providing users information on services around their location, or to the location they are travelling to, and allowing them to access information easily. By using these strategies, they are maximising data as a strategic asset that allows for data reuse to a broader market reach.

The website employs mashups with Nokia, 2012, and Microsoft Corporation, 2013, to provide real-time updating maps that show the location of certain places and users can use the map to see the surroundings and layout of the location. This allows the service to supply real-time information to end users.

TripAdvisor owns a unique, hard to recreate source of data by using massive data warehouses. The information provided is supplied by the publisher and owner, TripAdvisor and their partners, and users can contribute and enhance the initial core data supplied by TripAdvisor by adding reviews, images, ratings and recommendations.

TripAdvisor users have full control of their data they create. Consumers can also outsource certain data to their Twitter or Facebook feeds, which allows for further beneficial advertising.

Privacy And Ethical Issues

There are some privacy and ethical issues TripAdvisor. According to TripAdvisor’s privacy policy, TripAdvisor collects general personal information from registered users such as the user’s name, email address, and travel preferences (TripAdvisor LLC, 2013 2). However, TripAdvisor does not sell or rent any personal information to any third party, other than their partners (TripAdvisor LLC, 2013 2). Furthermore, most privacy sharing issues can be maintained by user privacy options and settings. Additionally, some ethical issues TripAdvisor can encounter are bad reviews leading to a detrimental impact on a business who advertises on TripAdvisor.

This Web 2.0 application is fairly informative and allows users who want to go on a holiday to plan in advance where to stay, eat, and which flight to catch. I thought the option to view flights to the destination was very innovative and makes the web application unique to others. I know a nice Web 2.0 service called Flight Aware which could integrate quite well with this feature of TripAdvisor which tracks flights all over the world. FlightAware could be a great future implementation to this application.

 

Thanks for reading ❤

Laura

 

References

FlightAware. (2013). FlightAware – Flight Tracker / Flight Status / Flight Tracking. Retrieved from http://flightaware.com/

O’Reilly, T. (2005). What Is Web 2.0 – O’Reilly Media. Retrieved from http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1

1 TripAdvisor LLC. (2013). Holiday Reviews – Accommodation, Hotels, and Holiday Packages – TripAdvisor. Retrieved from http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/

2 TripAdvisor LLC. (2013). Privacy policy – TripAdvisor. http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/pages/privacy.html