How the Web Has Democratized Businesses

The web has shown the unique ability to progress, advance, and grow at an infinite rate, and at a ridiculous pace.  As this maturity takes place, we are sometimes forced to play catch up in order to stay current and utilize all of the web’s offerings.  This familiar scenario is exemplified when looking at businesses that operate on the web.  Since the popularization of e-commerce, businesses have found the internet (and rightfully so) to be a terrific platform for conducting their trade.   Nowadays, nearly all businesses have some sort of presence on the web.  You would be hard-pressed to find  a company without a website or at least some sort of online contact information.

Unfortunately for businesses, the quickly advancing web has now made this sort of online existence, “old school”, if you will.

The web has gone through a pretty large transformation since the first dot-com bubble in the late 90s to early 00s.    What was once a static and structured architecture is now a dynamic, user-driven platform.  The internet is now centralizing around users and their activity instead of solely spotlighting the businesses that provide the content.  The web has and continues to evolve into a huge social arena, connecting users across the vast landscape of the web.

So, how has this ’social web’ changed companies and their online presence?

It is not acceptable for companies to remain hidden behind their “corporate veils” anymore.  The web has given everyone a voice, and it is imperative for these businesses to start participating in the “conversation”.  We are seeing more and more companies utilizing social tools like blogs, Twitter, and various social networks in order to engage their current and potential customers.

Recently, Facebook found themselves in a sticky situation as they updated their terms of service (ToS).  A massive uproar soon followed.  Articles and blog posts filled the internet about the company and its unfair terms.  In response to the uproar, Facebook temporarily went back to its older ToS, and is now asking for user feedback while it drafts its replacement ToS, now known as its “Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.”

These are the types of actions that truly define a democratized business.  It stems from listening and interacting with customers.  Businesses who do not participate are at a huge disadvantage.  The evolution of the web has brought consumers together and has put businesses in a unique position.  In order to succeed, it is critical for businesses to start tapping into this network, giving their customers a voice, or else they stand a real chance of losing out to companies that do.

What is interesting about the Facebook ToS debacle is that the story broke immediately and spread to major news sources almost instantly.  Of course, Facebook, being the largest and most popular social network, will tend to receive lots of attention.  But you would assume from the number of stories written that this was an earth-shattering situation for all Facebook users.  Well, in fact, it turns out that only about 0.006% of Facebook users cared about this story!  I can only imagine what would happen if a majority of users were interested.

Point is, businesses must offer customers a voice.  Businesses who democratize and knock down their corporate barriers stand to gain a lot of attention and respect from the general audience.