Slashdot Mirror
Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide
lamaditx writes "There is a good chance that you have heard about "Web 2.0" — the buzz-word coined by Tim O'Reilly in 2005. You will find several reviews of books about this topic on Slashdot. These cover mainly technical aspects of implementation whereas this book introduces the strategical thinking behind the whole Web 2.0 movement... Web 2.0 is so much more than the technology.' The table of contents is available from O'Reilly, together with a chapter preview. The book does not come with any extras but includes the usual free 45 days access to the book on Safari. When reading a book I usually flip through it quickly to get an impression for it, in this case there are three things which I noted right away." Keep reading for the rest of Adrian's review.
Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide
author
Amy Shuen and Simon St. Laurent (editor)
pages
266
publisher
O'Reilly Media , Inc.
rating
10
reviewer
Adrian Lambeck
ISBN
978-0-596-52996-3
summary
Business thinking and strategies behind successful Web 2.0 implementations
First, I was drawn by the the foreword by Tim O'Reilly. Since I have read his article about Web 2.0 back then I came to the conclusion that the strategy guide is a kind of successor. The next think I was looking at is information about the author. Amy Shuen concentrates on business models and teaches entrepreneurship, strategy, and venture finance on major business schools around the world. Amy is currently a Professor of Management Practice at the "China Europe International Business School" (CEIBS).
Secondly I noticed that there are a lot of footnotes on every page which reference other publications that fit the current topic. This is perfect if you want to drill into the details about a specific issue or lack some background knowledge.
The last thing I notice are the really big "End Notes" which spread across 40 pages and the bibliography which consists of 22 pages. This means that around a quarter of the book is additional information. I am pretty sure this fact is due to the academic roots of Amy Shuen and I think it is appropriate for this kind of guide. Actually this is what I expect from a guide — it should guide me through the topic and summarize the overall picture.
After flipping through the book I started reading it — and couldn't stop. I had to travel to Munich the other day — I boarded the plane with nothing else but the book and my boarding pass. I received the book on Thursday and finished reading it on Saturday.
Reading this book is fun for several reasons. I hate authors that put graphics into their books and don't provide you with additional information. That is not the case in this book, all the graphics are easily read (the only exception is a picture on page 5). Most graphics, functions, and screenshots are self explanatory. From my own experience I know it is not easy to find the right mixture between too much detail and too little.
Another important point are the numerous case studies in every chapter. Of course they do not include all information and details but they emphasize the theoretical point and provide you with a good feeling about the business case. Reading these kind of "historical" stories also adds some life to the book. Even though I have written a paper about Google's Page Rank algorithm and therefore a rough understanding of it, I learned many details about the competition between Google and GoTo (later known as Overture) that I did not know. It also teaches you that the effortless looking success of a company like Google involved tough times in the past. Running the Web 2.0 track is not always that easy as it looks like.
Talking about the big names: This book is interesting for anybody involved in a Web 2.0 (or escaping Web 1.0 ;-) ) environment no matter if you are working in a big, small, or start-up company. Amy stresses this point several times as she points out "Your business probably isn't Facebook, LinkedIn, or even something that looks much like them".
So how are you be able to transfer the knowledge you gained from the book to your own Web 2.0 concept? Amy to the rescue. Each chapter ends with a "Lessons Learned" section to summarize the most important points. After that she provides you with a section "Questions to Ask" which cover strategic and tactical issues with these tools at hand. The last chapter will also support you to "apply Web 2.0 strategic thinking to your business". Maybe you are writing a business plan or a project proposal to get your idea started. The last chapter will help.
In the end I would like to talk about the rating I am assigning to this book. I rated it as 10 which means it is "excellent" or one might call it a "classic work". I have not talked much about the content of the book because I did not want to provide you with a plain summary. I expect this book to become one of the "must-read" in business as well as technical classes since more and more business models will evolve in a Web 2.0 environment. Another reason is the well explained and easy to read writing style. Technical terminology is kept to a minimum thus not requiring a lot of prior knowledge.
Adrian Lambeck is a master student in "Information and Media Technologies" in Germany and thinks about starting his own (Web 2.0 ?) business.
You can purchase Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
Secondly I noticed that there are a lot of footnotes on every page which reference other publications that fit the current topic. This is perfect if you want to drill into the details about a specific issue or lack some background knowledge.
The last thing I notice are the really big "End Notes" which spread across 40 pages and the bibliography which consists of 22 pages. This means that around a quarter of the book is additional information. I am pretty sure this fact is due to the academic roots of Amy Shuen and I think it is appropriate for this kind of guide. Actually this is what I expect from a guide — it should guide me through the topic and summarize the overall picture.
After flipping through the book I started reading it — and couldn't stop. I had to travel to Munich the other day — I boarded the plane with nothing else but the book and my boarding pass. I received the book on Thursday and finished reading it on Saturday.
Reading this book is fun for several reasons. I hate authors that put graphics into their books and don't provide you with additional information. That is not the case in this book, all the graphics are easily read (the only exception is a picture on page 5). Most graphics, functions, and screenshots are self explanatory. From my own experience I know it is not easy to find the right mixture between too much detail and too little.
Another important point are the numerous case studies in every chapter. Of course they do not include all information and details but they emphasize the theoretical point and provide you with a good feeling about the business case. Reading these kind of "historical" stories also adds some life to the book. Even though I have written a paper about Google's Page Rank algorithm and therefore a rough understanding of it, I learned many details about the competition between Google and GoTo (later known as Overture) that I did not know. It also teaches you that the effortless looking success of a company like Google involved tough times in the past. Running the Web 2.0 track is not always that easy as it looks like.
Talking about the big names: This book is interesting for anybody involved in a Web 2.0 (or escaping Web 1.0 ;-) ) environment no matter if you are working in a big, small, or start-up company. Amy stresses this point several times as she points out "Your business probably isn't Facebook, LinkedIn, or even something that looks much like them".
So how are you be able to transfer the knowledge you gained from the book to your own Web 2.0 concept? Amy to the rescue. Each chapter ends with a "Lessons Learned" section to summarize the most important points. After that she provides you with a section "Questions to Ask" which cover strategic and tactical issues with these tools at hand. The last chapter will also support you to "apply Web 2.0 strategic thinking to your business". Maybe you are writing a business plan or a project proposal to get your idea started. The last chapter will help.
In the end I would like to talk about the rating I am assigning to this book. I rated it as 10 which means it is "excellent" or one might call it a "classic work". I have not talked much about the content of the book because I did not want to provide you with a plain summary. I expect this book to become one of the "must-read" in business as well as technical classes since more and more business models will evolve in a Web 2.0 environment. Another reason is the well explained and easy to read writing style. Technical terminology is kept to a minimum thus not requiring a lot of prior knowledge.
Adrian Lambeck is a master student in "Information and Media Technologies" in Germany and thinks about starting his own (Web 2.0 ?) business.
You can purchase Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
I don't need it. I already beat the interwebs. The end guy was hard.
Programmer: an ingenious device that converts caffeine into code.
Are there any cheat codes?
The boss is easy to beat. You give him a lot of venture capital, ask for fifty new features that confuse the user interface and when his user base starts to dwindle, you pull the funding.
See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
Do NOT upgrade to Web2.0 until at least the 1st service pack!
This is the first in O'Reilly's new Buzzword series. Coming soon: "Blogospheres", "Synergy", and "Social Cloudcasting"
1. Use Visual Studio and .NET, or Flash
2. Make sure there are tons of shiny multicolored buttons for everything even when not necessary
3. Implement a buddy system even though your site has nothing to do with anything social
4. ?????
5. PROFIT!!1!11
There are mountains to cross for those that are willing.
too late, Web 3.0 already exists as the "semantic web" and I've seen Web 4.0 as "the learning web" or "the webOS", whatever that means. Some days it's really hard to stop rolling my eyes at work.
I'm a former beta tester for dirt. It's still full of bugs, nobody ever bothered to write a service pack. So we may not actually get a web 2.0 servoce pack.
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
Speak for yourself. I'm running Web 2.3 beta 5, and it's nice to have a numeric metric that proves how much I'm ahead of the rest of you chumps.
Is it pronounced "Web 2'dot'0" or is it "Web 2'point'0"? I don't want to sound foolish when I talk to people about the internets.
--I'm not talking about dance lessons. I'm talking about putting a brick through the other guy's windshield.-
For the revision that will cover Web 2.0.98, patchlevel 4.
Have gnu, will travel.
What are you, some kind of commie? Look, hype is all we have left. Hype is a precious natural resource and you are squandering it. If people don't get pumped up about the idea of social interactive service oriented web enabled crap, how will we get another wave of ridiculous investment? Without that wave of investment, when will we regain our Aeron chairs and foosball in the lobby?
What, do you expect us to work for a living? That's for suckers.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
There is a good chance that you have heard about "Web 2.0"
WTF is this, 2002 ? Is this book written for the Amish ?
Web 2.0 is now old hat. The magpies have moved on to bigger, shinier garbage like AIR and Silverlight.
-Billco, Fnarg.com
XML! Everyone knows that XML is the answer! ...please don't hurt me, I'm only joking. :(
"You can either have software quality or you can have pointer arithmetic, but you cannot have both at the same time."
Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide, written by a student who thinks about starting his own (Web 2.0 ?) business.
In the same vein, readers might also be interested in these other entertaining books:
"Running a Business", by Someone Who's Never Run A Business
"Orgies: How To Feel Your Way Through If You're Blind", by Helen Keller
For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.
Pfft. Anybody who's anybody is using Web 3.0rc3
ZuluPad, the wiki notepad on crack
If you're not tracking svn, you're a chump.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Youngin's with their new toys. I do just fine on ARPAnet 0.5