Is Web 2.0 A Bigger Threat Than Outsourcing?

An anonymous reader writes "According to InformationWeek, Web 2.0 is even worse than outsourcing for IT jobs. The article talks about corporations that have laid off IT staff and replaced them with technologies like mashups and wikis that can help people get things done without involving IT. Most IT people still think Web 2.0 is an overhyped buzzword, but that might not matter: So many Web 2.0 apps are sold (or given away for free) by software-as-a-service companies like Google that people can bypass IT altogether, and IT might not even know until it's too late."

Comments

Re:Shifting of costs

[jeevesbond]

Right, so he doesn't pay his own staff but instead pays staff at StrikeIron, Workday and Visual Sciences.

Well said sir, and isn't that outsourcing?

This reminds me of an article called 'The Submarine'--about the PR business:

One of the most surprising things I discovered during my brief business career was the existence of the PR industry, lurking like a huge, quiet submarine beneath the news. Of the stories you read in traditional media that aren't about politics, crimes, or disasters, more than half probably come from PR firms.

A good flatterer doesn't lie, but tells his victim selective truths (what a nice color your eyes are). Good PR firms use the same strategy: they give reporters stories that are true, but whose truth favors their clients.

According to that article PR firms were having trouble dealing with getting stories onto the Internet to generate buzz for their clients. I think this Slashdot story proves they're not having that trouble any longer. My supposition is--bear in mind I have no proof--that this article was bought and paid for by many of the companies mentioned in it. Notice the large, nearly irrelevant, chunk about Microsoft Sharepoint for example: it reads like a press release.

This article doesn't say anything, or contain any useful information. It doesn't even make any sense and was probably bought by a PR firm! Sort it out Zonk.