I recently had the opportunity to give a keynote speech at James Madison University to a group of graduating students in the Communications department. While on campus, I saw the way students regularly use and interact with what many commonly refer to as Web 2.0. As they make the transition into the “real world,” their knowledge of Web 2.0 is what will jumpstart the business world’s transition to Web 3.0.
In the business world, everybody is talking about Web 2.0 and how companies need to readjust their strategies around this phenomenon. The major service industries from advertising to PR have all begun to get on this bandwagon, and many have launched Web 2.0 divisions to profit from the ever increasing amount of money being spent on the Internet by businesses.
At the same time, though, many senior executives today are complaining about “Generation Y” and how it has a resistance to learning and working hard. Many are perplexed by the young generation who are only willing to work the standard 9-5 and then ask, “What are you going to do for me to keep me here at your organization?”
But while senior executives might balk at what they see as an unwillingness to “pay their dues,” today’s youth clearly hold the future of Web 2.0 and beyond in the palms of their hands. In fact, the merging of today’s graduating seniors with the business world will lead us into the world of Web 3.0.
Peter Whitehead, digital business editor at the Financial Times, recently quoted in an article “a McKinsey man” who said, “The idea of Web 2.0 is a world in which anyone can have a go at generating content. Web 3.0 is where professionals take the lead in shaping the content.”
Today’s graduates grew up surfing the Internet and know how to navigate it faster and leverage it better than most “old school” business professionals. It is this generation who made Facebook and YouTube Inc. an international phenomena and opened up the world to endless social applications. These graduates have the opportunity to come into any organization and teach the older guys a thing or two. They have a better understanding of the viral nature of things, not to mention the ability to quickly generate their own content.
Still, the younger generation needs to be taught how to do this in a business environment where every little thing counts and the wrong message can be disastrous. Generation Y must learn to adjust the way they are using social applications as they enter the working world.
What needs to happen is a proverbial meeting of the minds. The older generation needs to figure out a way to motivate the younger generation to tap into the resources that they know better than anyone, and the younger generation needs to demonstrate a willingness to work -- for the good of both sides. Once this happens, we will see Web 3.0.
Web 3.0 is the future of the Internet’s evolution and innovation: where businesses understand how to effectively utilize (and monetize) information found across the Net from social networks to viral video. It is an opportunity for the up-and-coming generation to make its mark by developing new applications based on the things they like and the conversations they are having, and for the older generation to develop business models around them. Human communication is changing forever -- and with it, the relationship between generations.
— Todd Barrish, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Dukas Public Relations
The nature of the current Web is such that it is a very protean thing. Communications methods that succeed in the United States may fail overseas, and visa versa.
The Internet is beyond anyone's control. It has become a constantly mutating thing, fueled by people's thirst for knowledge. It may end up becoming the basis for a true future world government, based on communication at net speed.
All I can say is - hang on to your hats, it's gonna be a wild ride for everyone!
Great response to Murugan's post but i don't see why we should even rule out the old school models. We should not forget that some of these models where once very successful and that they only fail because people were not innovative enough to adapt to the new business enviroment. That is why it is very important for this collaboration between the tech savvy generation and members of the old school.
I don't think it will be prudent on the part of this younger generation of business leaders to throw these old scholl models to the dustbin but rather to transform them to suit the prevailing business condition. I still believe several of these models can still be very useful and productive if only we can inject these new web phenomena into them.
On the issue of the principles you've mentioned,they are simply timeless and the earlier the young generation embraces them, the better it will be for the future of the business world since no amount of tech saviness can replace those principles
Well said Todd. Enjoyed your response to Murugan; enjoyed what he had to say too. Such open dialogues may be an important catalyst to helping chart paths to and beyond the next generation (e.g., of the Internet).
Hi Murugan,Thanks for the response. I wanted to weigh in on your question regarding 'to what extent should the younger generation embrace the old school business models considering previously successful business models are failing in today’s global economy'. I think you make a great point here. It is my belief that what the younger generation needs to embrace is old school business 'principles' rather than models. These principles include having a strong methodology for the business, creating a strategic plan for growth, capitalizing on current market factors, executing across all areas of the organization, etc. These are principles that require hard work and dedication and primarily are not accomplished with the lackadaisical attitude of 'what are you going to do for me'. Regarding a few of the other responses, I appreciate everyone weighing in. In the public relations business collaboration is key to success. While I am not ready to make a prediction of when we will move from web 2.0 to web 3.0 (as many are still trying to get there heads around web 2.0) with a basic understanding of technology and the applications that are possible, it is certainly possible to begin getting a sense of what things will look like when we do leave web 2.0. I personally think 3.0 has a tremendous mobile aspect to it. Information at anytime, anywhere. That said, we all know our mobile capabilities differ from country to country and region to region so maybe 3.0 begins elsewhere and works its way to us.
Are you saying that 2.0 is essentially social networking and that 3.0 will be largely business applications?
Are the terms 2.0 and 3.0 merely marketing terminology to try to explain what is actually happening with the groundswell of cloud computing, etc?
I agree with viboons that it will be very difficult to predict how when and where 3.0 will occur. But it seems to me that your prediction may very well come true. Do you see it happening within the next 5 years?
Thanks Todd for sharing your vision of the future.
I think it's almost impossible to predict how Web 3.0 will happen, let alone suggesting who or when to kick off Web 3.0.
To begin with, we won't know what Web 3.0 is until it actually happens. Now we probably only know what it isn't, i.e. it isn't Web 2.0. The term "Web 3.0" is defined and used to simply refer to the future web that's made up of "new stuff" (new Internet innovations and/or technologies) that's not previously included in Web 2.0. I think this is pretty much like how we moved from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0, when we think of Web 2.0 as any new things combined that emerged on the Web, such as social networking, user-generated content sites, and interaction that provide new ways of communication and so on (basically anything we didn't see in Web 1.0). To me, Web 1.0 = "the past", Web 2.0 = "the present" and Web 3.0 = "the future" of the Web.
Perhaps, Semantic Web and other promising technologies that would allow more dynamic web sites and users' interaction are the best we've got at this stage to envision Web 3.0.
While I do think "a proverbial meeting of the minds" between the older and younger generation is a good idea, I don't see how this will necessarily lead to the emerge of Web 3.0 or why we will see Web 3.0 once this happens.
It will definitely be exciting to see what Web 3.0 provides to
us.
I was wondering to what extent should the younger generation
embrace the old school business models.
After all, we are currently seeing previously successful
business models failing in today’s global economy and often times they need to
be radically transformed in order to continue their success.
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