Microsoft's announcement that they are moving from a software company to a media company speaks volumes about the impact of Web 2.0 on business.
We’re really not just talking about Microsoft, in my opinion they're just a leading indicator; an 800-lb. canary in a coal mine for large companies with any significant revenue coming from traditional software business models.
Attracting users with the most compelling content (including, or even especially, each other in the form of online social communities) is now considerably more valuable that punching out code in a world where non-connected software is becoming relentless commoditized and growth-constrained. Attracting users on the Web with the very best honey (content) and monetizing their attention is the name of the game in the future. Dion Hinchcliffe
If you’ve had any hesitation or second thoughts about the importance of a content strategy and the use of corporate blogs, wikis and podcasts or creating RSS feeds, take another long, hard look at the way the Internet is affecting your business – the ground is shifting under your feet.
Microsoft’s change of direction is just another example of the fundamental changes imposed on many corporations by the increasing pre-eminence of just about anything on the Web, says Hinchcliffe.
Many of these technologies have already impacted businesses around the world. Even for the organizations they still haven't touched, blogs, podcasts, wikis, and RSS are on many of their radars.
