Five ways to make a business out Web 2.0

Web 2.0 applications are gaining massive appeal, but what are the opportunities to make money out of this audience?

Cisco strategy practice internet business solutions group MD Fernando Gil de Bernabe outlined a number of ways in which companies have used the latest generation of the web to their own advantage, at the 21st Century Global Summit held in Blenheim Palace:

Pretend it's low rez and user-generated
Marie Digby became a pop sensation when she started posting videos of her performances of songs written by herself and of other established stars songs. She was so popular, she racked up 2.3 million views and earlier this month Disney-owned Hollywood records announced she had been signed to the label.

However, the revealed that Digby had actually been signed to Hollywood 18 months before she debuted on YouTube and the web 2.0 foray was part of the marketing for her forthcoming album.

Cheat Sheets

♦ Web 2.0
♦ Mash-ups

Copy the copiers
Gil de Bernabe points to a video posted by car maker VW on YouTube in February 2006, paying homage to popular TV show Pimp My Ride - and to the practice of users putting up their own skits of official adverts on the site. Called 'Unpimp The Auto', the campaign features actor Peter Stormare of Prison Break fame destroying customised cars and replacing them with the latest unadulterated Golf GTi.

Take advantage of avatars
An avatar is a virtual persona, becoming increasingly familiar to users who spend time in virtual worlds, such as Second Life and World of Warcraft.

The Royal Bank of Canada has put an avatar called May on its customer website to help them understand banking services more readily - currently May is on the site to explain how to use online bank statements. According to Gil de Bernabe, RBC found that its customers preferred to get this information from an avatar than from a real person.

Let your customers be your designers
Let the customers do the job - for example it is commonplace nowadays for games companies to offer beta-tests of games in development before they are put into production.

Watch out for 'Brandalism'
Just as companies can quickly and cheaply build up their brands through interactions in social networking sites, they can also be destroyed just as easily. Customers are much more prepared to rant online through blogs and social networking sites about poor service.

Such reports can wreak untold and long-lasting damage on a brand's authority in the market.