Guest Columnist

The question I`m most often asked by South African executives relates to Web 2.0 and, more specifically, why they should care about what many see as ‘kids` stuff`. It would be very difficult for me to explain if there wasn`t a real-world example of how a business can be transformed by the customer interaction this technology facilitates. The example, in case you hadn`t figured it out already, is CNN. The Time Warner company has embraced Web 2.0 technology broadly, but two particular initiatives have shown results already: I-Report and Election Center (sic) – hey, that`s how Americans spell it.

Let`s begin with I-Report. CNN, like any other news organisation, has a problem: the world is just too big to have a reporter in every corner of the planet where the news might happen. I-Report is the solution. It is a service that enables anyone, anywhere in the world, to upload photographs, video and commentary for publication on CNN worldwide.