Few topics have excited so much interest for our profession in such a short time as Web 2.0.
There is currently a proliferation of articles and short conferences on the subject and a rising tide of interest. Yet a consideration of the discussion to date suggests that there is more heat than light. There is a deal of emphasis on illustrations, mainly from knowledge intensive, high-technology organisations, but little analysis.
In our view what is required now is:
- An understanding of the extent that Web 2.0 represents a new idea. Is it different?
- The development of a clear vocabulary and terminology
- A serious consideration of the potential for and drawbacks of the use of Web 2.0 in today’s organisations.
Accordingly, as a first step we have invited Professor Graeme Martin and the team from Glasgow University to prepare a discussion paper addressing the issues. We welcome your views and have established a discussion thread for this purpose. At various points is the paper there are questions with a link to the thread.
Please give us your ideas, feedback and opinion about Web 2.0.
The final report from this research project was published in March 2009 and is available from the CIPD bookstore.