Web 2.0

Wagner Design started as a print shop but realized in the late 1990's that the web would displace a large part of its print business. Kathy Roeser's arrival at Wagner design helped seal the transition from print to web.

Like this? Let us know with a $5 donation, so we can do more

As described in our last segment on Wagner Design Associates, the firm started as a print design shop. However, by the late 1990's, it was clear that the web would play a more significant role, at least partially displacing print, so Jill Wagner began the move toward the web. Some highlights from this segment:

  • Shortly after the start of the current decade, Jill approached Kathy Roeser because she felt she needed more web expertise.
  • Much like Carrie Hensel at Inner Circle Media, Kathy had become a self-taught web guru with a grounding in design and she was actively engaged in teaching others.
  • Kathy's design background also fit well with the culture of Wagner Design, smoothing the firm's transition from print to web.
  • Wagner Design Associates now does about 50/50 print and web work.

Identity and access management tools designed for the web can be adapted to the enterprise, but the access model is more complex.

Like this? Let us know with a $5 donation, so we can do more

In this brief segment (download 3 minute iPod compatible video, 14MB), Mark Ford, Principal, Deloitte, describes how single sign-on took off in the enterprise market after web applications became wide spread, creating a sort of Enterprise 2.0. In a web application like Google docs or Yahoo Finance, the user signs on one time and has access to many underlying applications.

However, the access model for enterprise applications is more complex. For instance, students in university can access the courses they are taking but cannot access the system for assigning grades. Professors can access the grading system but not the students' billing records.

(n.b., As used in this article, "Deloitte" means Deloitte & Touche LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Deloitte's site (www.deloitte.com/us/about) outlines the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.)

Just as the Internet has given rise to a whole new array of identity and access challenges, identity management systems that are designed for the Internet, like openID, may be part of the solution.

Like this? Let us know with a $5 donation, so we can do more

Mark Ford, National Leader of Deloitte's Identity and Access Management Practice, recounts how the practice has emerged over the past decade (download the 7.5 minute ipod compatible video, 39MB). One of the driving forces in its creation has been the emergence of the Internet as a daily fact of business life. Once internal and externally facing systems are opened to the Internet, they face hundreds of different permutations in having to verify identity and grant access.

Just as the Internet has given rise to a whole new array of identity and access challenges, identity management systems that are designed for the Internet, like openID, may be part of the solution. Generally, the choice of solution will be based on risk assessment that weighs the potential increase in business from open access against the financial damage a breach would bring. A good example is the credit card industry that takes on the risk of sending out unsolicited cards in order to gain business.

In future segments, we will discuss Deloitte's innovation model and trends in Internet security.

(n.b., As used in this article, "Deloitte" means Deloitte & Touche LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Deloitte's site (www.deloitte.com/us/about) outlines the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.)

Root's strategy has been to avoid the purely experimental online environments and move into these delivery mechanisms as market demand makes itself apparent.

Like this? Let us know with a $5 donation, so we can do more

Root Learning's business is about enabling strategic change in organizations. What may not be immediately apparent is the central role of communication in this process, and communication is Root's core competency.

In this 8 minute segment (download iPod compatible video, 41MB), Rich Berens describes how Root Learning evolved from essentially a publishing business to one that has its feet firmly planted in interactive online learning environments. A key driver in this move has been customer needs. Initially customers were looking to move to online environments to drive down the cost of bringing people together to interact around a strategy. As customers became more proficient at online environments, they began to want to move toward simulation and most recently gaming.

Root's strategy has been to avoid the purely experimental and move into these delivery mechanisms as market demand makes itself apparent.

Older Entries

Paul Schutt: Bootstrapping Advertising and Readership
The local growth focus of each of Issue Media Group's sites is what makes it possible to simultaneously bootstrap advertising and readership.
Paul Schutt: The Role of Centralization
Centralization allows Paul Schutt to exercise editorial control and enhance Issue Media Group's web visibility.
Tom Meloche: Targeting the Brain
Tom Meloche believes the system he has developed at Procuit better matches the brain's learning architecture better than any other.
Paul Schutt: A paper of record for growth
Regular, well-connected business people are the source for the stories in Issue Media Group's publications, and the group counts on word of mouth to build its referral base.
Tom Meloche: The Michigan Advantage
The advantages of doing business in Michigan is that costs are lower, and start-ups focus on viable business models early on.
Tim Daley: Expanding Four Ways
Tim Daley has an aggressive plan for growth.
Al McWilliams: Filtering and Monetizing Music
Al McWilliams is reconciled to the fact that the music industry can no longer support itself through the sale of CDs. He is currently experimenting with different business models that recognize this fact.
Larry Schmitt: Marketing Inovo's Innovation Process
Larry describes how he is promoting Inovo's techniques through word of mouth and educational programs developed by the Inovo Institute.
Al McWilliams: Trusted Filters
Al discusses how Quack ensures that artists get paid for the work they do.
Tom Meloche: Enterprise Applications on Facebook
Tom describes why Facebook might make an ideal delivery platform for training products targeted at the enterprise.
Tim Daley: Connecting Islands of Data
Crime Cog connects islands of law enforcement data. Tim Daley, Crime Cog's CEO, describes its value proposition and who it sells to.
Alyssa Martina: Beyond Passive Connectivity
Alyssa Martina allows users on Metro Parent to have their own blogs so that they can build connections. Her goal is to get beyond passive, anonymous interaction.
Lou Rosenfeld: An Infrastructure for Quality Content
Over the next year, Lou Rosenfeld aims to publish 10 books and set up a media platform for publishing other high quality content.
Linda Girard: From 15 to 25
Linda Girard, Chief Visionary of Pure Visibility, outlines her plan to go from 15 to 25 employees in the next year.
Lou Rosenfeld: Networks, Everything Is a Campaign
Lou describes how he is using social networking to build Rosenfeld Media's brand image. While much of the information that might be contained in a book can be freely found on the Internet, readers will pay for high editorial standards and packaging in a form they understand.
Linda Girard: Interacivity, Learning, & Social Media
Linda Girard describes how Pure Visibility uses training to help smaller companies engage in adwords marketing campaign while providing premium consulting services to larger clients. Pure Visibility uses social media with both groups to help manage word of mouth referrals.
Carrie Hensel: Finding Their Spot in the Market
Carrie Hensel bills herself as a scientist, artist, and entrepreneur. She started Inner Circle Media, a web design firm, with her partner, Catherine Hayes, when it was abundantly clear that the dot-com bubble had burst. Here, she recounts the story of the start-up and how they successfully found their market niche.
Lou Rosenfeld: Social Media for Push & Pull Advertising
Lou Rosenfeld discusses how he uses social media such as weblogs to create a presence for his books before they are even published and then uses promotional surveys to develop influence maps of the niches he is selling to.
Linda Girard: Creativity & Client Happiness
Linda describes how Pure Visibility's staffing model is oriented toward analysis and communication. Staff spend 60% of their time in front of clients. Analytic skills allow them to be creative in how they structure the client's message relative to search engines.
Peter Morville: Twelve Month Goals
Peter kiddingly remarks that he is looking forward to his trip to New Zealand. More seriously, he is targeting a book at the nexus of user experience and strategy.
Lou Rosenfeld: Micropublishing & Network Effects
This segment is the first in a discussion with Lou Rosenfeld on what it takes to build a money making micropublishing business that eschews costly traditional distribution channels. Lou, who helped found the field of information architecture, is using social media combined with traditional word of mouth to build direct sales. The jury's still out on Lou's plan, but he has sufficiently controlled costs to the point that he does not have to sell too many books to break even.
Linda Girard: Find & Convert Web Customers
Linda Girard co-founded Pure Visibility two years ago because she knew she had to be part of Internet marketing after having founded another Internet marketing firm and working in the field for years. In a short time, Pure Visibility has grown from three to fifteen employees with plans to add another ten in the next twelve months. In this segment, we discuss Pure Visibility's core value proposition, helping companies to attract potential customers on the Internet and convert them.
Peter Morville: Valuing User Contribution
With the explosion of user contribution in Web 2.0, the issue of how to glean value from user contribution has emerged. Peter Morville analyzes a number of strategies for doing so.
Web 2.0 and Traditional Business
Bob Holland briefly gives his thoughts about Web 2.0 catching on in the Detroit area.
Web 2.0 in Auto Body Repair and Home Building
Dave Henderson talks about how he has used digital photography and boundary spanning systems to improve customer service in the autobody repair and home building industries.
Ron Suarez — Tools for Independence
Ron Suarez and I dissect the business model of his new company, PromoVUZ. PromoVUZ is targeted at independent musical artists who want a low cost, digital means of promoting and selling their content. We discuss the revolution that is sweeping digital music distribution and the role that services provided by companies like PromoVUZ play.
Sponsor Michigan Innovators
Promote innovation in Michigan.
Sponsor case studies and how-to's.