Research Paper (The Impact of Web 2.0) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

(The Impact of Web 2.0) - Research Paper Example This paper describes the different risks and advantages of Web 2.0 for today’s businesses, identifying several case studies for companies that have tested Web 2.0 functionality to create a better business model and standing among competitors in similar industries. Web 2.0 is considered part of the â€Å"participatory Web† (Decrem, 2006, p.2). It is called participatory because it creates opportunities for internal employees to enhance their communications systems or can even allow customer groups to be more interactive and post various comments or criticisms to help businesses understand their target markets at the marketing and advertising level. Web 2.0, with the assistance of information technology experts, allows current and pre-existing computer and software systems to become inter-linked with many social media sites and interactive forums to build more cost-effective and convenient linkages to the internal and external environment. At the internal level, in terms of operations, businesses are searching for methods to improve their operational processes by â€Å"improving process, performance by leading and controlling processes with a means to measure or improve business function† (Santa, Ferrer, Bretherton and Hyland, 2009, p.156). At the internal level, businesses must be keenly aware of the costs associated with operational elements, all the way from production through the end product delivery, to ensure that they remain within budget and can stay competitive with a highly-evolutionary external business environment. From a critical perspective, Web 2.0 capabilities can improve many different operational components such as improved online advertising or even supply chain by transforming physical distribution to an Internet-based operation of logistics. Web 2.0 also allows business to regain innovation at a time where