web 2.0

IBM is in fierce competition with Microsoft in the markets for communications and collaboration software, and the new Lotus Connections offering could give it a leg up -- at least temporarily. Last November, Microsoft introduced a new version of its collaboration software, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007, which includes some basic social networking technologies, including blogs and wikis.In the earlier days of computing, innovations that were created for corporations gradually seeped into consumer products. But now, the traffic is going both ways -- and moving quickly. The most significant example of this trend is the social networking phenomenon.
Web sites like MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr have seen their popularity boom with quick and easy technologies for doing everything from creating blogs and forming communities to posting photos and videos on the Web. Now these technologies are starting to arrive in packages designed specifically for large companies. Ready or not, MySpace is coming to the enterprise. A major advance came Jan. 22 with IBM's announcement of a new product called Lotus Connections.social networking