The wonderful world of web 2.0

Last week I was mostly to be found in Vienna at SIBOS; a huge convention for the great and good (as far as we know) of the banking and financial services world. As you can imagine, it was a very interesting week to be there, with the melt downs of various financial institutions happening on a daily basis. But this light hearted post isn't about that.

The key note speaker of the closing plenary was Don Tapscott of Wikinomics fame, and very good he was too. His presentation was on the rise of web 2.0 and the new generation of work force who have no notion of life B.G (Before Google). He talked about the fast-paced, constantly innovating, fun world of work that this generation expects, and a little about how today's institutions are going to have to accept this and evolve if they want to attract the best talent.

One moment in particular made me smile. He told the audience about an interview he did at one conference with a panel of "kids" aged between 12 and 24. He asked them whether or not they used email. The answer that came back?

"Not really, email's pretty old fashioned - its too slow."

"Interesting. What would you use email for then?"

"Well its appropriate for formal communication - maybe to write a thank you letter to a friend's parents or something like that..."

The audience groaned audibly.

It seems to me that much of the deluge of sites and tools being thrown up by web 2.0 will have slipped away by web 2.5, leaving only the very best in use. However one that looks like its here to stay is Twitter, the site for fast status updates and connections. Among other things its proving a particularly useful tool for consumer businesses who have a presence there, to connect with the world outside. Hopefully those same businesses will soon start to explore how it can help them to connect better with their own communities.

Anyway! All this was prompted by this beautiful, tongue in cheek little video I found yesterday. As a new Twitterer who still doesn't really get it, but knows everyone else does, it really made me smile. If you decide you want to find out what all the fuss is about, you'll find me at http://twitter.com/samwood, come tweet with me!