Web 2.0 makes headlines, but how does it make money? This concise guide explains what's different about Web 2.0 and how those differences can improve your company's bottom line. Whether you're an executive plotting the next move, a small business owner looking to expand, or an entrepreneur planning a startup, Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide illustrates through real-life examples how businesses, large and small, are creating new opportunities on today's Web. This book is about strategy. Rather than focus on the technology, the examples concentrate on its effect. You will learn that creating a Web 2.0 business, or integrating Web 2.0 strategies with your existing business, means creating places online where people like to come together to share what they think, see, and do. When people come together over the Web, the result can be much more than the sum of the parts. The customers themselves help build the site, as old-fashioned "word of mouth" becomes hypergrowth. Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide demonstrates the power of this new paradigm by examining how:

• Flickr, a classic user-driven business, created value for itself by helping users create their own value

• Google made money with a model based on free search, and changed the rules for doing business on the Web-opening opportunities you can take advantage of

• Social network effects can support a business-ever wonder how FaceBook grew so quickly?

• Businesses like Amazon tap into the Web as a source of indirect revenue, using creative new approaches to monetize the investments they've made in the Web

Written by Amy Shuen, an authority on Silicon Valley business models and innovation economics, Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide explains how to transform your business by looking at specific practices for integrating Web 2.0 with what you do. If you're executing business strategy and want to know how the Web is changing business, this book is for you.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 29 Ratings

A good book for the right audience - 2009-04-05
Reviewer Rating:
I've seen some mixed reviews here for Shuen's book, and the enjoyment and relevance of this book will depend on what you come into it looking for. While it is subtitled "A Strategy Guide" much of the strategy that comes from it is not especially deep. Part of this is because the issues being examined are evolving as the book is being written. The book is a good overview of the topic, trying to introduce a new business model and somewhat new technologies, noting the way that business and technology intersects in this world. A real audience of this book is the business leader who is asking "What is this Web 2.0 and why should I care about it?" Instead of a Strategy Guide it is more like a Primer, introducing components of Web 2.0 and talks about some of the success stories in these areas. The book is not going to teach you how to succeed in the Web 2.0 world; other reviewers have pointed out that there are better books out for this. Rather this is a good starting point, bringing technology and business together, and giving topics for further exploration using the excellent bibliography as a guide. Know the limitations of the book, and you should find it to be an excellent first step into a new world.

Good book for inspiration - 2009-09-12
Reviewer Rating:
This book opened my eyes to the world of web2.0. It contains a nice split of sections and good checklist to be use for anybody who would like to start an internet business nowadays. I'd strongly recommend this book as a source of inspiration.

Excellent reference for those interested in social computing real world implementations - 2009-08-20
Reviewer Rating:
I got a hold of this book while researching the concept of social networks and Web 2.0 implementations and how this frenzy is changing the face of business.

This is an excellent read and the author, Amy Sheun, exhibits clear mastership and understanding of the topic with real-life examples that we witness daily.

The more I read, the more I get excited about the whole concept, and the more I believe we can reach an uncharted universe of great opportunities.

So if you are interested in online communities, social networks, Web 2.0, or you happen to be a decision maker in our organization, you will find this book extremely useful!

Too Clinical...But Good - 2009-06-11
Reviewer Rating:
This strategy guide was written for those that like "technical" writing...or clinical type books.

It's more suited for a classroom than to be sold to the mainstream business person in my opinion.

It does provide some solid strategies.

Worth it for the bibliography - 2009-05-11
Reviewer Rating:
I got about halfway through the first chapter of this book and realized that as immersed as I am in Internet culture, I really wasn't going to take away much value from this book. The tactical questions at the end of each chapter could certainly be useful, and the endnotes and bibliography were fantastic. But for someone who uses the Web regularly and is heavily involved in social networking, I wasn't taking away a whole lot from it.

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