April 13, 2006

Web 2.0 and Ziggs

Although some decry “Web 2.0” as a meaningless marketing buzzword, the depth of definition offered by Tim O’Reilly in his must-read article “What is Web 2.0” will convert any cynic.

At the first Web 2.0 conference led by Tim O’Reilly and John Battelle in October 2004, three defining principles of Web 2.0 were formed. To loosely paraphrase, 1) The Web can be used as a platform, 2) where one can give the user control over their own data on that platform, in order to 3) harness the “collective intelligence” of the users thus making the outcome more valuable as a whole. By this definition, online companies such as Flickr, Wikipedia and Ziggs fit snugly into the Web 2.0 world.


It’s gratifying to see a term coined to support the leap of thought that these companies and their business models have taken to push the Internet envelope further for the benefit every Internet user.

Coincidence or Fate? In that same month that "Web 2.0" was coined, Ziggs was launched.

April 06, 2006

Content Matters

Barry Graubart writes about the “50 Content Companies that Matter” in his blog by the same name. He mentions Ziggs as one of the key content companies that has made its mark by reinventing the old school method of using printed directories for finding professionals - with the new online method of “people search for professionals.”

Barry writes, “rather than positioning it around prestige a la ‘who’s who’, Ziggs has shifted the focus to managing your image on the Internet.” Barry predicts that “changing dynamics in the workplace mean that personal branding and positioning will become more critical for professionals in the future, strengthening Ziggs’ core message.”

Barry concludes, “the people search market will continue to grow, with uses as varied as sales prospecting and recruitment to performing due diligence for dating. Ziggs is well-positioned to field a significant portion of that traffic.”

I love Barry's insight on this. Thank you for communicating these ideas with such clarity.