Web 2.0 T - MZGroup · refers more to the way the web is seen by the users and developers than any...
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November 2009 IRGR Monthly Newsletter - November 2009 - Issue 15 T he term Web 2.0 was coined by O’Reilly Media in 2004 to refer to the second generation of web-based communities and services. It revolves around the “web as a platform” concept, with its key representatives being wikis, indexations made by users tagging, social networks and information technology. The term refers more to the way the web is seen by the users and developers than any technical update. According to Tim O’Reilly, “Web 2.0 is the migration to an Internet as a platform and an understanding of the rules in order to be successful in this new platform. The most important rule is to develop applications that harness the effects of the network to become better as they are increasingly used by people, by taking advantage of collective intelligence. In Investor Relations, content creation cannot be shared as companies are responsible for providing their information to the market, always in compliance with the 3 principles that guide their relationship with the market: transparency, access to information and equal treatment. Nevertheless, Web 2.0 can be applied in IR by making the information access channels more flexible and offering users a wide range of access options using the recently created tools such as Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, LinkedIn, Slideshare and Scribd, and even the mobile site, which enables access from mobile devices or PDAs, as well as the good old email alerts. In order to use the different tools available in the Internet, companies should have coherent communication in ALL the channels and be open to receive and respond to all the feedback received; otherwise, the simple use of the tools cannot be categorized as Web 2.0. To provide information and make use of “collective intelligence”, the company must rely on the dedication of its IR team. One way of making the IR content flexible using feedback from users is to provide and highlight the most accessed information. This is the case, for example, of targeted homepages or tag clouds, by which users can view what is being most searched by their peers. Since 2004, the IR Global Rankings has been analyzing the various access tools available to users, in its technical evaluation of IR Websites and Online Annual Reports. The use of RSS, targeted homepages and email alerts were the first items to be evaluated within the concept of Web 2.0 and in the subsequent editions, it began evaluating targeted homepages and/or homepages dedicated to different users: Analyst vs. Investor, Institutional vs. Retail. (Figure 1*) or even homepages customized according to user needs, among other tools that allow flexible access to information (Figure 2**). Web 2.0 *Figure 1 Courtesy: IR Website ALL http://ir.all-logistica.com/all/web/default _en.asp?idioma=1&conta=44&V=1 Need to know the best practices and global examples of good IR websites, online annual reports and financial disclosure? Order your copy of the 2009 IR Global Rankings Benchmark Study through our website before time runs out.
Transcript of Web 2.0 T - MZGroup · refers more to the way the web is seen by the users and developers than any...
November 2009 IRGR
Monthly Newsletter - November 2009 - Issue 15
The term Web 2.0 was coined by O’Reilly Media in 2004 to refer to the second generation of web-based communities and services. It revolves around the “web as a platform” concept, with its key representatives being wikis, indexations made by users tagging, social networks and information technology. The term
refers more to the way the web is seen by the users and developers than any technical update.
According to Tim O’Reilly, “Web 2.0 is the migration to an Internet as a platform and an understanding of the rules in order to be successful in this new platform. The most important rule is to develop applications that harness the effects of the network to become better as they are increasingly used by people, by taking advantage of collective intelligence.
In Investor Relations, content creation cannot be shared as companies are responsible for providing their information to the market, always in compliance with the 3 principles that guide their relationship with the market: transparency, access to information and equal treatment. Nevertheless, Web 2.0 can be applied in IR by making the information access channels more flexible and offering users a wide range of access options using the recently created tools such as Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, LinkedIn, Slideshare and Scribd, and even the mobile site, which enables access from mobile devices or PDAs, as well as the good old email alerts.
In order to use the different tools available in the Internet, companies should have coherent communication in ALL the channels and be open to receive and respond to all the feedback received; otherwise, the simple use of the tools cannot be categorized as Web 2.0. To provide information and make use of “collective intelligence”, the company must rely on the dedication of its IR team.
One way of making the IR content flexible using feedback from users is to provide and highlight the most accessed information. This is the case, for example, of targeted homepages or tag clouds, by which users can view what is being most searched by their peers.
Since 2004, the IR Global Rankings has been analyzing the various access tools available to users, in its technical evaluation of IR Websites and Online Annual Reports. The use of RSS, targeted homepages and email alerts were the first items to be evaluated within the concept of Web 2.0 and in the subsequent editions, it began evaluating targeted homepages and/or homepages dedicated to different users: Analyst vs. Investor, Institutional vs. Retail. (Figure 1*) or even homepages customized according to user needs, among other tools that allow flexible access to information (Figure 2**).
Web 2.0
*Figure 1 Courtesy: IR Website ALL
http://ir.all-logistica.com/all/web/default _en.asp?idioma=1&conta=44&V=1
Need to know the best
practices and global
examples of good IR
websites, online annual
reports and financial
disclosure? Order your
copy of the 2009 IR Global
Rankings Benchmark Study
through our website before
time runs out.
November 2009 IRGR
Monthly Newsletter - November 2009 - Issue 15
Since the great value in Investor Relations is in the content being disclosed, the IRGR also looks for the presence of each company in blogs, discussion forums and social networks, not only to evaluate it for merely being present, but mainly to monitor the trends and the speed at which this concept progresses in the corporate world.
Today, after almost 6 years of existence, the term Web 2.0 is widely used and even exploited as a marketing ploy by many companies that claim to be able to master the platform. But the reality is that the term is poorly understood in its essence. For IR to be really involved in this platform, it is necessary that the team is trained to use all the existing tools, monitor all responses and comments instantly, filter pertinent feedback and act on it based on what the collective intelligence can aggregate. If this does not happen IR’s role within Web 2.0 ends up being simply reactive, using the platform only to “listen”.
Taking advantage of the use of this interactivity and be capable of using the various services offered by the platform related to the type of content produced would require intensive work and a lot of time from the IR professional. That is why, the big leap of Web 2.0, which is the unlimited sharing of collective knowledge and intelligence, as already happens in other segments of communication, is still to come in Investor Relations.
http://www.eni.it/en_IT/investor-relation/investor_landing_struttura.shtml
**Figure 2 Courtesy: IR Website ENI
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articles herein deal with matters of general public interest and are not intended to offer legal opinions or to induce investment decisions.
Content: IRGR Team and Daniele Zandona from MZ Consult.([email protected])
