I signed up to linkedin.com, so now have another username and password to contend with. Linkedin is a site dedicated to the networking of businesses, and is used as an employment tool. However, the Victorian Education Department has a set procedure for advertising and applying for positions so I did not feel the need to complete a full profile.
Basically, "a business model is the method of doing business by which a company can sustain itself -- that is, generate revenue" (Rappa. 2009). All businesses aim to sustain and grow their customer base and business opportunities in order to increase revenue.
Social networking sites enhance business opportunities by providing world wide exposure. Some networking sites generate income via advertising and sponsored links. Ning has a ribbon of Ads by Google. Facebook allows users and companies to create their own ads which are placed in a ribbon on the side of the site. It can therefore be argued that these sites can be classified as business models because they have opportunities to generate revenue, and therefore can sustain themselves.
However, Twitter does not have a revenue base and therefore cannot be classified as a business model according to this definition. "The micro-blogging service has succeeded in building a strong, loyal following, but failed to capitalize on it. Such a scenario, which lacks a revenue model, isn't sustainable over the long-term,” (Henry. 2008). However, it was recently offered half a million US dollars by a marketing company to place an ad on the site for one day, so this may change. As Web 2.o tools and social networking sites increases their impact on the business world, perhaps the definition of a business model will change to reflect these changes.
Henry, A. (2008). The Ultimate Twitter Revenue Model. Accessed on 25/10/09 from Read Write Web: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_ultimate_twitter_revenue_model.php
Rappa, M. (2009). Business Models on the Web. Accessed on 25/10/09 from http://digitalenterprise.org/models/models.html
Exercise 9.2: Research and Evaluation in Government
1. Summarise the use of:
- Wiki drafts for public discussion: Wikis are documents that allow many authors to create and make amendments. Being that politicans spend much of their time away from parliament and their offices, wikis allow them to continue the document creating and amending process, regardless of their location. Wikis would therefore be of great benefit in decreasing the time it takes to create collaborative documents, and one would think save money and the time it takes to implement new regulations and policies. Wiki would also allow the public to make comment and add to the document and policy making process.
- Twitter in Government: Twitter is being used by governments and political leaders throughout the world in order to increase their profile. Using popular platforms such as Twitter in government allows politicians to connect with a wider demographic, particularly young people. It could be argued that this makes government more accessible to the populice. Globe trotting political leaders like our own Prime Minister Kevin Rudd are able to communicate with the Australian public and keep us up to date with the decision making processes and policitical processes.
According to Wikipedia, the term Government 2.0 refers to the "attempts to apply the social networking and integration advantages of Web 2.0 to the practice of government. Some examples of Government 2.0 include "Using Technology to Improve Education, Cut Red Tape, Reduce Gridlock, and Enhance Democracy," the aims of which are to "provide more effective processes for government service delivery to individuals and businesses." "Integration of tools such as Wikis, development of government-specific social networking sites and the use of blogs, RSS feeds and Goole Maps are all helping governments provide information to people in a manner that is more immediately useful to the people concerned." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_2.0
To be honest, I hadn't heard a lot about Government 2.0 or anything about the taskforce or conference. I knew that politicans including Kevin Rudd are using Twitter in order to connect with a wider deomographic and keep in contact while overseas. The use of Web 2.0 tools and Government 2.0 seems like a great initiutive to me. It makes the government seem more open, transparent and accessible. The fact that the public are able to make comment and provide feedback makes us feel like we are a part of the policitical process. But this is only the case if the government read and take notice of public comment and do not just make decisions regardless of public opinion.
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