I still think “Enterprise 2.0” is a meh business trend with a horrible name. It’s not that social media/collaboration tools don’t have a role in business, and I agree there are some situations where consumer tools aren’t the right fit. A great example is Twitter versus Yammer. (Oh, if you only saw the conversations that happen on TechCrunch’s Yammer feed…)
But I don’t see Enterprise 2.0 becoming a big area of corporate spending. The tools are too cheap and easy to replicate with tons of free alternatives, and many of the vendors are just not ready for prime time. One exception might be blogging software, but don’t most companies who want a corporate blog have one by now? Rather than the next Oracle (who by the way was one of the study’s underwriters) or even Salesforce.com emerging from this space, I’m betting that existing software-as-a-service companies incorporate the functionality themselves or you get a lot of built-in-house code.
There’s also the problem that nearly 20% of executives have no idea what “Enterprise 2.0″ is. That comes from a new study that’s actually talking up the adoption of Enterprise 2.0. It points out that 40% didn’t know what it was at the beginning of the year, so at least that’s progress. What’s more it says that 50% of those surveyed consider enterprise 2.0 to be “very important” to their business success. (Of course, I think working out everyday is “very important” to my weight loss goals…doesn’t mean I actually do it.)
Still, given that number is so high, it stunned me that the study also said only 7% of people over the age of 45 think that Twitter is an important rapid-feedback tool for business. Sadly, it’s not much better among younger folks: Only 27% of those between the ages of 18-30 say Twitter is an important rapid-feedback tool for business. What? Really? You may think we obsess about Twitter too much on TechCrunch, but clearly most business folks aren’t getting the memo.
Let’s put aside for a moment that there are pretty well proven test cases on how Twitter utilization has helped companies like Dell and Comcast. Paying for outreach or collaboration tools without first checking out what a free, easy tool like Twitter could do is missing the entire point of the cheap flexibility and ubiquity of social media. Put another way (and to paraphrase James Carville): It’s a recession, stupid. Try the free tools first.
Hi guys, I’m going to spam twitter, facebook, myspace and digg with my wanky business and call it web 2.0 marketing.
Don’t you mean Marketing 2.0? Oh, look, it’s the next big trend!
Lol.
I think twitter can be explained as faster e-mail/IM to businesses. Rather than send me an e-mail, just send a twitter message from your mobile phone. IM is a bit too spammy for businesses.
I hate twitter, but can see how it can be a feedback tool. If only there was a way to filter the BS from the actual useful bits
That filter would destroy 99.9% of the content on Twitter.
Judging by the “reminders” I get from TC about their new posts at Twitter, I would say yes.
99.9% come on. It’s all BS – 100%. Just because lots of people use it (including me!) doesn;t mean its not all useless pap.
I’m working on an app that filters tweets about brands down to a set that is useful for product and brand managers. We filter out roughly 90-98% of tweets that reference a product, company or brand. Most are retweets of article links and sales promotions. We also filter out a lot of tweets that fail to indicate whether they love, like or hate the product.
The application will be in private beta later this summer. Wish us luck.
Oh man, wouldn’t you guys love to take back giving Yammer the top award at TechCrunch 50?
It seems that 2.0 has become a buzzword of its own.
It was three years ago. Not it’s just tired.
“You may think we obsess about Twitter too much on TechCrunch, but clearly most business folks aren’t getting the memo.”
Translation:
“I think Twitter is important and I couldn’t possibly be wrong, therefore everyone else in the world (particularly people actually running businesses, rather than writing about them) is wrong.”
Nice!
Justin, you missed one part:
“Only 27% of those between the ages of 18-30 say Twitter is an important rapid-feedback tool for business.”
So a more precise translation might be:
“We think Twitter is important and couldn’t possibly be wrong, therefore everyone running businesses, and everyone those businesses are targeting as customers, is wrong.”
The assumption here is that corporate overlords actually want to give their underlings a voice. The truth is, the overlords want to micromanage every single message that goes from their strongholds out into the public. Consequently they hired PR and ad agencies to serve as their propaganda henchmen. Underlings need to focus on getting their TPS Reports in on time. Enterprise 2.0 (wasn’t that a spaceship?) undermines that control.
The other assumption here is that corporate overlords want to hear the ideas of their underlings. That’s also false. The overlords want to convey the impression that they listen to their serfs, but they think no ideas but their own are worthy of oxygen consumption. Who needs an efficient internal communications system?
Consequently, corporate overlords would prefer a system that enables underlings to vent, but the ideas immediately get filtered into a disposal system. It’s like “Twitter” but with an “Sh” in place of the “Tw.”
“Try the free tools first.”
“Freeee…”
*drool*
It will happen with time. When the high school Twitter users hit 30 they will be saying Outlook what?
They’ll probably also be saying “Twitter what?” after they attain the ability to project their sensory-laden holograms into their friends’ rooms.
OMG! Ponies 2.0!
Really, you’re surprised that only a small % of executives think Twitter is a useful?
You need to get out of the Valley & visit with people who run companies in the other 49 states!
Bottom line: it’s still a pretty geeky thing & if it wasn’t for a few hollywood types jumping on the bandwagon, the numbers would be smaller yet! I mention that I think its cool occasionally, and typically get something along the lines of “really? what is it actually? how do you use it?” or the ubiquitous “I don’t get it”.
Hell, I had a TOP VC tell me he didn’t get it just 2 weeks ago.
It has a long way to go before its table stakes for business.
twitter is lame.
Breaking News – Naked Emperor Has No Clothes, TechCrunch Shocked.
I agree that Twitter can be an important feedback too for SOME businesses, but the term “Business” is a huge blanket statement.
Twitter probably wouldn’t do much for the Mom & Pop Donut shop down the street because their target demographic is living in the apartments right around the corner.
You’re kind of making it sound like business owners “just don’t get it”. Twitter is awesome, but it’s not for everyone.
Great point. I was thinking while reading this “Sure, it’s a great rapid-feedback tool for my company, but I’d still answer no to that question.”
Then again, what does my opinion matter, because according to Tech Crunch, since I’m over 30, I’m old.
I completely understand excutives not understanding how twitter can be useful. Both examples show how any use of a new channel medium is used. Calling that a success is a huge overstatement (dell could open a short wave radio and it would sell using it)
Twitter is just a cheaper sms service. Any company who needs it to use as communication with customers has got a lot of serious problems with the usual customer service mediums (aka comcast, with such bad call centers anything is a success)
Unless twitter can add value other than another way for customers to communicate, companys will still prefer to be able to interact with customers without having to swim through all the spam (which is pretty much what most tweets still are)
Twitter won me a free Alienware M17x through their trivia contest on there. (Tis a laptop worth about 4 grand.)
I will put up with all the damn spam from/on/about Twitter from now on without complaint. :p
totally agree
Enterprise 2.0 sounds like a UGC Star Trek sequel set in urggh Second Life.
Companies (media companies in London, Soho) get Twitter, to the extent they need to get on it, but don’t get what it can facilitate. Yammer goes some of the way, but it’s interface sucks and now Social Cast has gone freemium so it’s enterprise Twitter war time and Twitter hasn’t shown it’s hand yet.
Lacy, you write well, loved China posts and ‘meh’ is brave terminology for TC, keep up the good work and statistical insight, congrats.
A
Sarah, why stop at firing the 73% of executives who don’t share your enthusiasm for Twitter? Why not march them to the guillotine?
Redfin pays a lot of attention to Twitter, but I’ve met plenty of amazing execs who have a more balanced view of it. And I personally worry that I sometimes listen to Twitter users too much:
http://blog.red...er_service.html
PS I liked the “meh” too. It made me smile.
Twitter is completely overhyped. Remember when MySpace was the internet darling?
Are we talking about Enterprise 2.0 in this article or are we talking about Twitter as a source of real-time feedback? I’m not really sure what you’re trying to get at here. Personally I don’t see anything wrong with the name. When talking about Enterprise and adaptation of Web 2.0 technologies, I see Enterprise 2.0 as a suitable title. I’m not surprised that many executives don’t understand the concepts as of yet. Enterprise 2.0 is still very much a developing idea.
On the subject of Twitter, as long as the platform continues to grow the potential is definitely there for more companies to use it as a source for aggregating feedback about their products and brands and interacting with consumers. Many people still don’t get it but as the service evolves hopefully it will become more clear.
Hardly anyone outside of the valley really uses Twitter. Of all the people I know, only 1 person tweets(and I’m in tech). They don’t even ‘listen’ to the stream. Everyone uses Facebook though.
Execs realize(unlike TechCrunch writers who orgasm when someone mentions Twitter) that Twitter is the most overhyped POS ever. Move on please.
I, by the power vested in me, hereby announce that anyone who does not see the financial value of Twitter should fire themselves.
We agree that in order for businesses to extract value, filters are absolutely necessary to both measure and monitor what is relevant to the business. This is true whether they are monitoring themselves, competitors, products, key messages or hot topics.
The ideal tool is very dependent on the business requirements. In most cases enterprise level businesses need tools that consolidate the vast social media landscape and sources into a single measurement stream, and provide the ability to benchmark and measure across their enterprise – and sometimes globally. And many of these organizations are new to all of this (evidenced by the study) and require services assistance. Many of the free or low cost tools may work for small businesses, but are new to the market and have serious limitations for the larger enterprise-wide companies.
Using Dell as an example of the power of Twitter is a bit dubious. Unless, Dell’s total sales increased or at least Dell believed (or maybe had evidence showing) that it wouldn’t have gotten those sales anyway.
On the subject of Twitter, as long as the platform continues to grow the potential is definitely there for more companies to use it as a source for aggregating feedback about their products and brands and interacting with consumers. Many people still don’t get it but as the service evolves hopefully it will become more clear.
Twitter is completely overhyped.