BANGALORE, INDIA: Prasanto Kumar Roy, president and chief editor, ICT Publications, CyberMedia Group, addressed the CIOL Enterprise Next Virtual Conference on the topic, 'Enterprise 2.0 - Myth or Magic'. Here are the excerpts from his conversation with the attendees:

What is Web 2.0 exactly?

Prasanto Kumar Roy: 'Web 2.0' is really used to describe web applications that allow interaction, information sharing, and are really user-centric. There's a lot of user participation and user-generated content. For instance, the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica would be considered Web 1.0, while Wikipedia, which is all user-generated, is an example of Web 2.0

Is the Web 2.0 flavor just a glamorous buzzword or does it have some real value for enterprises?

PKR: Today it's a mix of both. For many it's a great buzzword, and that is fine. If glamor gets you to sample a tech or "be there" in the midst of it, that is fine. But there is real value. And enterprises are rapidly discovering it, as they see competitors picking up market intelligence and addressing product problems rapidly. So I think it remains a mix of both, with many sampling it for the glamor and some staying on for the value.

How soon (or late) we perceive the end of Enterprise 2.0?

PKR: I don't think Enterprise 2.0 is comparable to a specific technology. It's a framework.

It's like computers and networking; the specific products will change, but not the framework (at least not in years or even a decade, probably!) Enterprise 2.0 talks about leveraging collaboration and the power of users. I don't see that going out of the window with new technology.

Is Enterprise 2.0 capable of taking the benefits of Web 3.0?

PKR: Absolutely. Web 3.0 is not really new tech...it's a term used for an extension, or better leverage, of the commoditized Web 2.0 tech which are there - blogs, wikis, Twitter. For instance an enhancement of Wikipedia, even validation of content and a lock down of pages once they reach some consensus of near finality, would take 2 "towards" Web 3.0 domain.

Where do you see Web 2.0 as a platform for small and big enterprises?

PKR: Web 2.0 and social media are great levelers. Any size of enterprise can use them. Having said that, it's likely to be smaller companies that are more nimble and move fast. But there are exceptions, globally, as IBM, Google, Cisco, Microsoft and others have shown in their rather effective leverage of Web 2.0 tech.

So I do believe that Web 2.0 is universally applicable across all sizes of companies.

Will we see separate department for social media in future in enterprises in India?

PKR: No, I think it will be a key part of the existing departments, especially marketing, including marcom or communications. The key is to understand that social media isn't a department... it's a powerful tool, like computers or mobile phones, which gradually everyone will need to learn to use.

Can blogging etc be a concern on whistle-blowing?

PKR: Blogging is a worry for companies everywhere; we've heard of some major cases of bloggers becoming "too big", such as at Microsoft, becoming unauthorized spokesmen for the company. What companies need is a policy with a "light" touch - and realize that if they allow multiple people to speak candidly, it portrays transparency, and multiplies the connect with the customer.