Amanda Gome

Don’t rush into Web 2.0 – while we love the idea, the consequences can be dire.

By Amanda Gome

Web two point uh-oh!

It’s extremely unfashionable but I’m calling it: Web 2.0’s days are numbered.

Now I could be accused of having my nose out of joint. SmartCompany has had reviews on the net calling it innovative and entrepreneurial. But apparently we are not quite “Web 2.0.”

We have blogs, podcasting, social networking, video, user-generated content … but to be truly Web 2.0, we need to allow our community, which is growing rapidly and stretches around the world, unfettered access to SmartCompany.

Great in theory. But it means that anyone could post anything on SmartCompany and, as any community knows, it is the few that spoil the party for the rest.

So yes, SmartCompany vets responses before immediately posting them. We ask for names when we suspect comments are not genuine and we do not allow abusive and ignorant comments to be posted.

The consequences of true Web 2.0 in the corporate world? Companies and people are being defamed, copyright infringed and regulations broken. People who write under false names to push specific agendas are poisoning communities.

The legal action that is going to sweep through Web 2.0 is only just beginning and will take companies down in its wake.

There are many business owners keen to jump on board Web 2.0. And why not? Communities are great opportunities for data mining, observation, collaboration and to be part of a conversation with customers. What better way to innovate than through close relationships with the community?

But the best entrepreneurs have always done this without the latest technology now available. So hasten slowly. While communications and technology might have changed, the fundamentals of business have not, and neither have regulations.