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This strategy guide was written for those that like "technical" writing.or clinical type books.It's more suited for a classroom than to be sold to the mainstream business person in my opinion.It does provide some solid strategies.
I got about halfway through the first chapter of this book and realized that as immersed as I am in Internet culture, I really wasn't going to take away much value from this book. The tactical questions at the end of each chapter could certainly be useful, and the endnotes and bibliography were fantastic. But for someone who uses the Web regularly and is heavily involved in social networking, I wasn't taking away a whole lot from it.
A real audience of this book is the business leader who is asking "What is this Web 2.0 and why should I care about it." Instead of a Strategy Guide it is more like a Primer, introducing components of Web 2.0 and talks about some of the success stories in these areas. While it is subtitled "A Strategy Guide" much of the strategy that comes from it is not especially deep. I've seen some mixed reviews here for Shuen's book, and the enjoyment and relevance of this book will depend on what you come into it looking for. The book is not going to teach you how to succeed in the Web 2.0 world; other reviewers have pointed out that there are better books out for this. Part of this is because the issues being examined are evolving as the book is being written. The book is a good overview of the topic, trying to introduce a new business model and somewhat new technologies, noting the way that business and technology intersects in this world. Rather this is a good starting point, bringing technology and business together, and giving topics for further exploration using the excellent bibliography as a guide. Know the limitations of the book, and you should find it to be an excellent first step into a new world.
I had the opportunity to hear the author speak and present several examples from the book, which enticed me to buy and read this book.Its a great book because1) It uses specific, current web 2.0 business examples2) It shows lots of diagrams and interface design examples3) It uses data and frameworks for decision making and strategy4) It gives solid definitions to buzzwords that seem to float in different interpretations on the blogosphere.Surprisingly, I have not seen any other books like this given the state of the internet and web 2.0.One thing that would useful in the future is comparison of "Negative Case Studies" in the sense that specific reasons and actions led to failure.
It goes on like this as far as I have read (the first few chapters). The first time the bad structure of the book's content and logical arguments started to bother me was when Dr. There would be even more "choices" (if they should be so called), but here I mention only those Dr. generated revenue from user interactions are enumerated, and three of four of them are actually the same way: Users upload content and do what would be a traditional company's work of enriching content with meta-information. Telling the reader something has six ways of making money when it's actually more like two or three is just not solid business thinking, as far as I am concerned. In my opinion, these are not four choices on the same level, but only two: a) single stream, b) multiple streams. had four choices regarding its revenue stream: 1) single stream - one product, 2) multiple streams - several different products, 3) interdependent revenue streams, 4) loss leader - one product actually costing more than it earns but driving additional revenue of other products.
And if you choose b), then you have b1) separate streams, b2) interdependent streams. And if you choose b2), you can have b2.1) interdependent streams where all products are profitable, or b2.2) interdependent streams that can afford one or several products making losses because of the additional revenue they generate for other products. I was looking forward to reading this book, but this one is, in my opinion, far below what I normally get when I buy an O'Reilly. Because this really simple example stresses why I really dislike the book: Writing something down in bullet points and explaining causes with their respective effects and above all stating strategic choices is something entirely different, though most certainly not something you can find in this book. As another example, six ways Flickr. This can now be exploited for search, building groups, and so on. Shuen gathered. So, I use the book as a reference for quotes and a few links to original articles on the web which Dr.
Shuen is explaining that Flickr. How can I trust the big points, Dr. Shuen hints at. Why explain this little point in detail. Shuen makes, when I believe she has not been careful enough to take care of the logic of the small points. Thanks for that, but the rest is just unstructured thinking, in my opinion.
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