Gregg Eldred

This got me to thinking . . . .



Web 2.0 and Lotus.

When IBM/Lotus released R7.0.2, a lot of the news centered around the "Web 2.0" functionality of the product. RSS, blogs, and wikis were the big talking points. Based on a Google search, it looks like AJAX should be thrown in that pile as well. Any way, even though Domino has been able to incorporate these items for "a while" (maybe a poor choice of words), please enlighten me. What is the big deal? Is it that IBM (and not OpenNTF, DominoBlog, or any other non-IBM entity) incorporated these features in their own product, out of the box? But more importantly, what is this Web 2.0 thing that seems to be the new buzzword? And if IBM/Lotus has included Web 2.0 (the late October version/definition) in Notes/Domino, what does that mean to their customers?

I am trying to get my mind around this. The blogging templates have been there, available to anyone who showed a little initiative and downloaded them. RSS? Well, that kind of came with those templates. And since the design of those templates were open, a little initiative could have applied the RSS techniques to nearly all of your databases. Wikis? Yep, there may be a template out there. :-)

From what I am able to discern, Web 2.0 is supposed to incorporate the customer. This means, according to Wikipedia, where the user/customer is able to control the content, add to it, and use a web browser as they do. So this is where I am having a tough time with Notes/Domino, and maybe it is that "Web 2.0" has always been in the product, but without the nice paint job or buzzwords. Am I off-base to think that Domino has always had these Web 2.0 features in some form. Maybe not RSS, but wikis/blogs could be considered "Discussion Databases" with nicer interfaces. Or that you can web enable some pretty amazing things without too much effort (okay, an oversimplification)

When IBM goes a sellin', are they using the "Web 2.0" buzzword? But more importantly, does it matter? Or is it the new-new thing that they HAVE to address otherwise people don't take them seriously? While the Domino Developers sit in the back of the room laughing to themselves? Are the Lotus people just waiting for the next new-new thing to put a pretty bow on it and say "Yeah, we do that" while under their breaths they say "We've always done that."

Please don't get me wrong, I like all of this attention. Especially since the release of 7.0.2 seems to be driving some excellent conversations and press. So, they talk about Web 2.0 and Lotus and I wonder, who cares and why. And more importantly, other than a new buzzword, what do I take away from this Web 2.0 talk? That I can talk about RSS, blogs, and wikis? Are the decision-makers budgeting for "Web 2.0" or are there other forces at work here?

[Update:] It seems as though Philip Storry has posted about Web 2.0 as well. Hmmm, is there something with this line of thinking?

Technorati tag: Web 2.0 Lotus Notes Lotus Domino

Comment posted by Philip Storry10/25/2006 01:47:11 AM
Homepage: http://www.not-so-rapid.com

I think you're right that it's buzzwords.

From a marketing standpoint, it's a combination of the old Web 1.0 message, plus a dose of "the user will do half your work for you" involvement (which will give your Records/Information Governance/Corporate Governance/IT departments heart attacks when they hear it).

But for some people, it's a cloak to get unstable technologies that they feel more productive with into the enterprise (Ruby on Rails, LAMP, etc.), and for others it's simply an excuse to blog rather than to do some work, communicate over their old boring channels and make some decisions of their own.


I focused on the technology side, because that was what sprang to mind as I had to start my IE7 checks. But your thoughts here are just as interesting to me - if I get time later today, I'll probably try to turn this comment into a blog entry of my own.

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Comment posted by Gregg Eldred10/25/2006 08:53:19 AM
Homepage: http://www.ns-tech.com/blog/geldred.nsf

Maybe the Emperor has no clothes?

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