Sunday, June 10, 2007
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Website Development 2.0
Life on the web has changed since our firm's inception in 1997 – ‘living’ on the web has become not only possible, it has become fundamental. To fully illustrate the influence of how the web is transforming the way we connect to others, just follow a typical teenager around for a day. If you have an interest in gauging their (inter)dependence on social networking, take away their rights to their computer. When you do, you will begin to see just how integral these programs have become to their very essence of ‘living’ – in fact, finding a teenager who actually engages others over the phone is a challenge unto itself. Life in business is no different and as we become pressed for time to research and communicate within our own small communities and beyond, this social networking will (and has already begun) to emerge in commercial applications that will see us ‘living’ in new contexts too.
Social networking over the web, for example, is increasing and in June of 2006, MySpace.Com surpassed 50 million visitors for the previous month (comScore media). To understand the magnitude and consequential influence of this figure, the population in Canada was estimated by Stats Canada to be around 32,851,665 in October of 2006. When our online traffic is exceeding current populations of countries, we can no longer assume these activities to be the result of early adoption – this is the changing face of our future. As this next generation enters the workforce over the next few years, the demand for technologies that provide a similar ethnicity grows and the paradigm where we once drove the web is being replaced with the web driving us.
So, what does this mean for issues such as website development? How do we harness the business, technology and the human factors to provide a useful tool that has a reasonable lifecycle? These are definitely questions that require fleshing out as corporations define their goals over even the next 5 year cycle. The challenge for us is to continue to provide technology solutions that add value and ignite projects that fuel our client’s success. The challenge for our clients is to forecast their needs and manage the open communication systems that are enabled by this living environment online.
Social networking over the web, for example, is increasing and in June of 2006, MySpace.Com surpassed 50 million visitors for the previous month (comScore media). To understand the magnitude and consequential influence of this figure, the population in Canada was estimated by Stats Canada to be around 32,851,665 in October of 2006. When our online traffic is exceeding current populations of countries, we can no longer assume these activities to be the result of early adoption – this is the changing face of our future. As this next generation enters the workforce over the next few years, the demand for technologies that provide a similar ethnicity grows and the paradigm where we once drove the web is being replaced with the web driving us.
So, what does this mean for issues such as website development? How do we harness the business, technology and the human factors to provide a useful tool that has a reasonable lifecycle? These are definitely questions that require fleshing out as corporations define their goals over even the next 5 year cycle. The challenge for us is to continue to provide technology solutions that add value and ignite projects that fuel our client’s success. The challenge for our clients is to forecast their needs and manage the open communication systems that are enabled by this living environment online.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Where has technology brought us?
When I spoke with my 70+ year old father about the effects of technology on 'living' in the world, he stares blankly at me. He cannot imagine how 'free' my teenagers have become while communicating across the web. The idea of actually talking to people using a few keystrokes is unimaginable for him - the act of communication has been transcended to a realm not easily understood. He is the generation of practiced handwriting and grammatical discernment - a realm being trashed by the nuances of social networking :)
As he questions me on the (lack of) telephone calls, I begin to wonder what the implications will be from a business perspective as these teens transform into employees? Are we about to be overrun by the multiplicities of a new and breathing world that resides in a box on your desk?
The simple fact remains: life as my father knew it has changed. While he may not accept and understand, I have little choice. It's plain to me that we are now driven by the web - it's how we buy, how we work and how we communicate! There is no fence sitting on this one - you're either in :) or you're out :(.
By all accounts, I'm in! As I peek into the future of enterprise 2.0, I am excited by a world without borders, its endless resources and the collaborative discoveries that are yet to unfold.
As he questions me on the (lack of) telephone calls, I begin to wonder what the implications will be from a business perspective as these teens transform into employees? Are we about to be overrun by the multiplicities of a new and breathing world that resides in a box on your desk?
The simple fact remains: life as my father knew it has changed. While he may not accept and understand, I have little choice. It's plain to me that we are now driven by the web - it's how we buy, how we work and how we communicate! There is no fence sitting on this one - you're either in :) or you're out :(.
By all accounts, I'm in! As I peek into the future of enterprise 2.0, I am excited by a world without borders, its endless resources and the collaborative discoveries that are yet to unfold.
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