"Web 1.0" refers to online information sent from a company to a consumer, while "Web 2.0" is focused on two-way communication between companies and customers. Message boards, wikis and social networking websites such as Facebook are all examples of Web 2.0.
"Web 1.0 is more one-way communication, more like a brochure," Tuck Research and Marketing Manager Genevieve Chan, who organized this year's event, said. "Web 2.0 allows people to add and redefine content. It's a more participative and open use of the Internet."
The public sector has embraced Web 2.0, Chan said, leading businesses to wonder how to leverage this technology to better communicate with employees and customers.
The panel featured Chris Kelly, chief privacy officer and head of global public policy for Facebook; Sylvia Marino, executive director of Edmunds.com; Pete Fields eBusiness director of Wachovia Corporation; John Lester, Boston operations director of Second Life and J.P. Rangaswami, managing director of BT Group. Philip Evans, senior vice president and director of Boston Consulting Group, moderated the discussion.
The panelists questioned how individuals can maintain private lives if they are posting more about themselves and their opinions online. Kelly said that, as Facebook expanded, a major issue the company faced was considering how open to make the site. The panelists also discussed the ways in which thinking about individual identity has changed. While just a few years ago, identity was not virtual, people have begun to view their Facebook profiles or online avatars as part of themselves, the panelists said.
Another topic discussed was how to maintain appropriate standards online when people freely post whatever they choose. According to Marino, most people would not post something lewd or profane because of common sense and social norms.
"The key is getting the governance [of the posts] at the right level," Kelly said.
The five panelists also examined how Web 2.0 has advanced cooperation between companies and consumers.
"As consumers, our voices are stronger," panelist Sylvia Marino, executive director of Edmunds.com, said. "Brand managers are watching the message boards. It's up to the businesses to see if they want to absorb it or not."
Chan agreed that utilizing this new technology is important.
"The discussion is about strategy," Chan said. "How can we use this tool effectively?"
The demonstrations, held at Stell Hall, featured companies that are already utilizing Web 2.0. This year's exhibition was different than previous years' because it focused on software rather than handheld business tools, Chan said.
Tech @ Tuck was founded to ensure that students at Tuck School of Business are on the cutting edge of technology when they graduate, Chan said. One reason the Center for Digital Strategies chose Web 2.0 as this year's theme was because first-year Tuck students are more Internet savvy than their second-year counterparts, specifically in terms of sites that feature individual participation, she added.
