Connecting People and Knowledge

by Frank Girolami

We humans are wired to seek interaction with other people. Complex language and reasoning powers support your interactive nature. Your brain can retrieve and store unlimited amounts of information from everyday interactions and use that information to think, analyze, and solve complex problems. Today's Internet is a global venue for productive interactions.

The Interactive Web

Evolving interactive Web tools have adopted software versioning nomenclature. Think about how you used the Internet in its early days. You browsed and searched to read and learn; thus using your eyes and your brain. That was Web 1.0.

Web 2.0 tools added ears and a heart to your interaction with the electronic world.

• E-mail is a fast & easy communication.
• IM is a portal for real-time conversations.
• Blogs allow the sharing of personal ideas and feelings.
• Wikis provide a place to collaborate with others.
• RSS feeds bring subscribers the latest news through an automatic e-mail or posting.
• Video webcasts and podcasts add another dimension.

Looking forward, Web 3.0 tools add arms and legs to your Web Interactions by making information more accessible through wireless and mobile systems.

Connections and Productivity

Workers are connected to others and to information by organizational charts, adjacent cubicles, phone lines, the Internet, help desks, subject matter experts, libraries, teams, customers, suppliers, incoming and outgoing information, family, friends, and other means. Nodes are the point of intersection between those seeking information and the information source—and workers are constantly seeking information!

Business-critical Web-based tools are about increasing interactivity, thereby raising productivity and return-on-investment (ROI). Increased organizational effectiveness depends on a support system that helps workers make connections with the people and information they need. Enter Web 2.0 tools.

Businesses are currently using Web 2.0 communication and collaboration tools to share information, strengthen communication, and build learning communities. Investors's Business Daily reports most companies have invested, are testing, or are considering investing in Web 2.0 tools.

© FPG Resources, LLC. Permission granted to STC members to use within their organization.