Web 2.0 and Beyond - Google Earth

For my example of a Web 2.0 product I chose Google Earth. The reason for this is the revolutionary way that Google has created a brand-new platform for collaboration, community and information gathering.

At first glance Google Earth seems to be just a 3-D mapping application; however, if you explore the additional functionality, you are introduced to a multitude of tie-ins. These are a sample:

• Layers: Using Google Earth Layers, a user can overlay information from a myriad of sources. Powered by Google search and other feeds we now have graphical drill-down access to information ranging from restaurant locations (think Ad Sense revenue!), community services, transportation, shopping to even historical volcano and earthquake locations.

• Wikipedia: Building on layers, the information provided by the Wikipedia community adds deeper-levels of knowledge to Google Earth, readily enhancing the quality of the service.

• Google Earth Community: A good deal of the application’s development no longer rests solely on Google. By leveraging a community model, individuals from around the world including GIS mappers, photographers and hobbyists are all capable of adding unlimited content (new layers, pictures and information) in a self-policing, on-demand manner.

Perhaps the most important feature Google Earth brings to the table is continued lifeblood to Google's core search engine product. Recalling my previous post about interfaces, Google Earth could be the way to contextualize the next generation of the web. Instead of being confined to 2-D text-based searches, we can now use graphics and images to crawl information previously hidden from view. In fact, as information databases grow, bandwidth becomes "infinite" and we start to look towards Web 3.0, what’s to keep Google from creating Google Moon, Google Mars or Google Milky Way?

Nothing.

Encyclopedia Britannica, Encarta, Yahoo, Mapquest, et al are woefully unprepared.

SalesForce.com: Web 2.0 done right

Tim O’Reilly, of O’Reilly Media, defines Web 2.0 as "the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.” It is the transformation from static one-way delivery of web pages to dynamic, interactive content, pulling from a number of locations across the web. There are many examples of companies calling themselves Web 2.0. The majority are cool and flashy with all sorts of bells and whistles. But what really strikes me is the lack of a clear revenue model. It seems to me that the model most of these firms are going after is acquisition (e.g. YouTube).

All that said there is one firm, which I love, that is getting it right. SalesForce.com started out as an online CRM tool but they have evolved into much more. In developing their product they also developed much of the infrastructure necessary to host these new “mashup” applications. SalesForce.com recognized this value and opened AppExchange, an online clearing house for third-party developed applications that run on, and integrate with, the SalesForce.com platform. Third-party firms have developed tools ranging from project management applications to inventory tracking systems. In exchange for hosting the applications and opening up the developers to their 400,000+ user base, SalesForce.com takes a percentage of the license fees.

They are now moving to the next level and have opened AppStore which some are calling the iTunes store of the business applications market. SalesForce.com has capitalized on, what I would compare to, the out-licensing strategy that firms across many industries have been employing for decades. Most firms have some patents or other IP that they are using in a specific industry. They’ve learned that there is additional revenue to be had by licensing use of their IP in other industries in which they don’t compete. SalesForce.com has recognized that their specialty is CRM, but they have a valuable set of core competencies that can be leveraged by other firms developing other applications for other business problems.

Triumph of the Nerds

I mentioned the three-part video about the recent history of the computer revolution. The key part that is relevant for our discussions is Part 2. I will try and find time to show it during one of our sessions. But, the transcript of the video is available online and is worth a quick read here.

The Value Shift

We talked about the shift in value from Hardware to Software that occurred in the mid-90’s. We then explored the next value shift, from Software to Services, which we are now in the midst of. I think it is important to note that what enabled the first value shift was the commoditization of computer hardware. This was enabled by open standards and the power of scale manufacturing.

The transition to services may not be quite so rapid. Will we ever see the commoditization of the operating system? The threat of the free OS may never materialize as they all require almost daily patching, a high level of tech savvy to run correctly and a limited offering of applications. Therefore one has to assume that, at least for the majority of consumers, the OS platform will continue to be dominated by Apple and Microsoft. It seems that the Services providers will always be bound to the OS provider and will never be truly free from those ties in their offerings. Will this be the fundamental limitation of the innovation that services will be able to provide?

From left to right:

Location free player, Sony Connect (content distribution), Stream Man (streaming content), Mylo Personal Communicator, Image Station (content sharing), Playstation Network (on-line gaming), Playstation 3, Digital Living System (content storage), Systems Plus (access to 700,000 product parts with real time pricing and availability)

Web 2.0

Lots of material available on web 2.0. It will be useful for you to spend sometime to peruse and understand the lay of the land--so to speak.

Here is one of the many presentations on web 2.0 to get you started.

Here is a video as well.

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Six Degrees of Separation: Using the Net

Here is an interesting site ("Find Satoshi") that seeks to locate a man given only his photograph and first name. It is billed as the largest-ever experiment in 'six degrees of separation.'

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What could this mean for minimizing identity theft? authentication? validation?
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What business models could this spawn?