Web 2.0 is changing the way in which business is conducted. But like the Internet of the 1990’s, it’s the “new kid on the block.” Who is he? Where did he come from? What’s he like? Does he have a girlfriend? Web 2.0 is over-hyped, it is poorly understood and it is – without doubt – revolutionizing the way we conduct business!

Web 2.0 is now more often used to describe a new generation of web-based services that allows us to interact, collaborate and share information. Put simply, Web 2.0 replaces the common belief that a website is an online brochure, with one that sees websites as tools for structured interaction between people. ‘Social media’ is a common, perhaps more meaningful, alternative term.
Blogs, wikis, social networks, social bookmarking, news aggregation sites: the litany of tools that make up Web 2.0 are numerous, and they are constantly evolving and recombining.

The implications for our businesses are significant! It’s a brand new day folks!! For one, Web 2.0 changes the way we interact with one another and therefore demands a change in the way businesses communicate with us.

A company website that is simply an online product brochure is a wasted opportunity. More progressive companies are using theirs to stimulate discussion and community around their brand, products and services, and are harvesting invaluable customer insight as a result. And it doesn’t stop with the official company website: many organizations monitor and participate in external online communities such as Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and Squidoo, where we as customers are sharing opinions and experience of the businesses we patronize. Move over SEO (Search Engine Optimized) here comes SMO (Social Marketing Optimized)!!

But some companies have a much better appreciation of how to apply Web 2.0 than others. Some, such as Dell and PlusNet, show companies using Web 2.0 tools to find out how they can serve their customers better. Others, like Wachovia Bank and Best Buy, demonstrate the ability of Web 2.0 tools to help organizations work together better, document their expertise and even improve social cohesion.

But every example shows why it is imperative for businesses of all shapes and sizes to reach an understanding of Web 2.0, from both a technical and more importantly, a social perspective. The advent of Web 2.0 gives us a unique opportunity to become more innovative, more creative and more social-based. By enabling collaboration and fostering community, we can now infuse major value to the activities of our businesses as diverse as marketing, customer service and business development.

So here are 10 examples of how Big Businesses have incorporated Web 2.0 into their marketing strategy.  And always remember, “Success often comes to those who have the aptitude to see way down the road.” Laing Burns, Jr.

Coca Cola
Their exhaustive use of Web 2.0 features keeps the Coca Cola’s brand in front of young eyes

Best Buy
The electronics retailer has built an exemplary internal social network

Ernst & Young
Facebook-based recruitment program lets the accounting giant keep in touch with their graduates

Procter & Gamble
Their BeingGirl website built a community around a brand that was otherwise tricky to market

Wachovia Bank
A Web 2.0-powered intranet is tackling some of the US bank’s biggest infrastructure issues

Dell
IdeaStorm lets their customers contribute to the innovation of their products

GE
They have evolved a collaboration framework that has revolutionized knowledge management

Elsevier
Scientific publisher incorporates community into its information services

IBM
Web 2.0 software allows Big Blue to get its 300,000 employees together in global ‘Jam’ events

PlusNet
Innovative Internet service provider lets its customer do the support work for it

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