The glitzy, interactive abilities of Web 2.0 have led to a profusion of new applications, but the technology also is bringing a new era of security vulnerabilities, a security researcher warned Wednesday.”Security was a challenge to begin with, but if anything it’s getting harder in the Web 2.0 world,” said Jacob West, manager of the security research group at Fortify, a company that helps companies make sure their software is secure. He made his comments during a talk at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco here.

A big culprit is JavaScript, a language that’s widely used to control Web browsers and enable more sophisticated operations. JavaScript has been around for more than a decade, but new risks are emerging since it’s a major component of Ajax, a Web 2.0 technology used to build richly interactive sites. Read more…..компютри втора употреба

It is useful to define the commonly used concepts associated with the rise of the Internet over the past decade in order to clarify key distinctions in the business realities they represent. These concepts are e-commerce, e-business, m-business, and m-commerce. E-commerce simply refers to the buying and selling of products and services over the web. The larger concept of e-business represents all the technological applications and business processes that enable a company to service an e-commerce transaction. In addition to encompassing e-commerce, e-business includes both the front- and back-office applications (e.g., ERP, CRM, supply chain management, and e-procurement) that form the core engine driving contemporary business transactions. In the broadest sense, e-business is the overall strategy of redefining old business models, with the aid of technology, to maximize customer value and profits.

Nearly all e-commerce and e-business applications envisioned and developed so far assume fixed or stationary users with wired infrastructure. This paradigm of fixed e-commerce is being rethought with the emergence and widespread adoption of wireless data networks for mobile commerce. M-commerce refers to business transactions conducted while on the move. Its growth is due to users seeking to conduct business, communicate, and share information while they are away from their desktop computers.

M-commerce is not possible without its partner m-business, which is the application infrastructure required to maintain business relationships and sell information, services, and commodities via mobile devices. Think of m-commerce as the façade and m-business as everything that happens behind the scenes. M-business, the logical extension of e-business, is creating new customer channels and addressing return on investment (ROI) of enterprise applications. Note that m-commerce can take place even if devices are offline.

Web 2.0 seems to be the new holy grail for all entrepreneurs and marketers, and while many experts sing its praises, an equal number do predict its demise into enterprise ether. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in-between. But one business area where Web 2.0 certainly has had a major impact is in branding and marketing. This cannot be denied.

Web 2.0 is a broad term that covers all aspects of Web usage or technologies that facilitate collaboration, sharing, online conversations, user-generated content or social networking of some kind. For example, there are over 100 million blogs today and no matter what area of business you are in, someone has probably created a blog about it and someone else is actually reading that blog. (Blog stands for Web Log or Journal or Site that a Web user creates themselves on any subject of their choosing.)

As a brand builder or marketer, ignoring Web 2.0 is ignoring some of the best tools you can find in managing your 360 degree (touching every touch point in your marketing matrix with an appropriate relationship) marketing strategy and your reputation online. Understanding your customer’s buying habits and interests, mapping current trends, getting free feedback and reviews, testing out new concepts on focus groups for free, managing your brand’s reputation through proper message management, distributing viral messages and ideas quickly – what else can a marketer ask for. This is the promise of Web 2.0. However, remember – the opposite can hold true as well – so use these tools carefully. Here are some ideas to help you along:

Idea #1: Spruce up your Website – improve the customer experience on your site: Add a blog-type news desk (Wordpress provides some very good tools for free) so visitors can comment and more. Add a customer assistance tool (like LivePerson or an Avatar - see SitePal or Oddcast), if you are an online retailer add user recommendations and suggestions (use intelligent tools like Cleverset.) And make sure you use some serious Analytics tools to help you measure performance of your site, drop off rates and more (Google Analytics is free and very good but you could try Webtrends for some really advanced reports.) Make sure you set up a team in-house to run your site so it is not an after-thought.

Idea #2: Get Blogging – yes, there are 100 million blogs out there, so before you take the plunge and launch another one of your own (Blogger, Wordpress or TypePad are your best bets) in that vast pool – ask yourself a few questions. How will this benefit my customers? Which blogs exist that already talk to my customers and how can I connect with them? How will I get my customers or target market to ready my blog regularly and become aware of its existence? Also consider using new technologies for announcing and broadcasting messages and news like Twitter and InMail at Linkedin.

Idea #3: Use Social Networks and Forums – This is a great way to test new ideas or get good feedback from people using your products or services. By reaching out to your core base via networks and forums, you will build a relationship with core constituents who will shape the opinion of others about your brand. Build a page on Linkedin (your profile), Facebook, Orkut, Ibibo, BigAdda, or Fropper. Manage this well as your reputation may count on it. If your market does not already have an active network then consider starting your own (have a look at Ning or Community Server – very nice open source social networks and forums you can start on your own.)

Idea #4: Use Email to build relationships and get messages out - Though not officially considered Web 2.0 – managing emails well is critical in your brand thinking for the Web 2.0 future. You already have an Email list - your current list of clients, customers, staff, friends , associates and vendors is your email list. Learning to use this wisely and then grow it is an art and will take some work. Set up newsletters, announcements and new desks so that you can keep your core targets informed regularly and automatically – there are some great email and list management services that are really cheap and let you create beautiful emails in minutes (see Constant Contact and iContact which both are Spam proof and approved.) Allow people to sign up for these on your site. Also consider growing your list in key markets by purchasing or renting lists. This will take some more research and effort on your part but may well be worth it.

There was an interesting article in India’s Economic Times that confirms what a lot of people know already: mobile web is fast becoming the primary means of accessing the web for many people, specially in developing nations. India has 9 million internet subscribers against 31 million mobile internet users who use the mobile internet “to read and reply to mails, download content and for online transactions”. About 54% of new handsets sold in 2006 were internet-enabled according to the same report. The figures come from the Indian regulator, so presumably they are reasonably accurate. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

6 actions you can take to help you implement the great ideas

Get Aligned. Whether you are an individual or a part of an organization, there are goals and objectives in front of you. What are the most important things that you are trying to accomplish? Having a good idea isn’t enough. The idea must also be relevant and important to your goals. Ideas that don’t pass this first test should be set aside for later (or never).

Get Clarified. Ideas in their infancy are fun and exciting, but they are seldom complete or crystal clear. Before taking action on your ideas, make sure you truly understand what is meant by and involved in the idea and what results you expect. This step is especially important for ideas that will be implemented by a group, as not everyone will have the same clear picture of the idea until it is clarified.

Get Organized. If your idea has passed the first two tests, it is time to plan. Figure out the implementation steps. Think about the timeline. Put this idea into the larger scope of your efforts. Time spent in planning and organizing will always pay dividends.

Get Help. You may not be able to turn your idea into reality by yourself. Your planning should help you see where you might need other experience, insight or another pair of hands. This is true for teams as well. Think about what resources you will need and work on lining them up early on. When you do these things your idea will become real much more quickly.

Get Focused. Once you have decided which idea(s) to implement and have a plan, you have to make the time to make it happen! Getting focused means creating the space and time to turn the idea into reality. It has to move from the idea stage into action. Focus your energy on making that happen.

Get Over Them. You may have an idea (or many) that you love. Remember that there is a big difference between a good idea and the right idea. You may have many good ideas on your list. For some of them the time isn’t right. Some of them don’t aren’t important enough. Some won’t be completely aligned with your goals and objectives. That is ok. In order to implement our best ideas sometimes we must be willing to let go of, or at least defer some others. When you are willing to do this you improve your chances of implementing the others you have chosen.

Any one of these suggestions above will be helpful, but when you take them together they will help you as an individual with your own ideas and priorities; as a leader in sharing and prioritizing ideas; and as a team to decide what to work on and who should be involved.

In the end, as important as creativity and idea creation is, it requires action before any idea will have real value. These six ideas can help you take that all important next step on your ideas.