Web 2.0 technology assisted global knowledge network as an organizations key asset

Aim of the Thesis is to study and understand the theoretical concept of Metanational corporation and understand how the Web 2.0 technologies can be used to support the theory. Empiric part of the study compares the theory to the case company’s current situation Goal of theoretical framework is to show how the Web 2.0 technologies can be used in the three levels of the Metanational corporation. In order to do this, knowledge management and more accurately knowledge transferring is studied to understand what is needed from the Web 2.0 technologies in the different functions and operations of the Metanational corporation. Final synthesis of the theoretical framework is to present a model where the Web 2.0 technologies are placed on the levels of the Metanational corporation. Empirical part of the study is based on interviews made in the case company. Aim of the interviews is to understand the current state of the company related to the theoretical framework. Based on the interviews, the differences between the theoretical concept and the case company are presented and studied. Finally the study presents the found problem areas, and where the adoption of the Web 2.0 tools is seen as beneficiary, based on the interviews and theoretical framework.

Post-industrial 2.0 – Social Web as the second coming of the post-industrial society

This study presents a review of theories of the so-called post-industrial society, and proposes that the concept of post-industrial society can be used to understand the recent developments of the World Wide Web, often described as Web 2.0 or social Web. The study combines theories ranging from post-war management science and cultural studies to software development, and tries to build a holistic view of the development of the post-industrial society, and especially the Internet. The discourse on the emergence of a post-industrial society after the World Wars has addressed the ways in which the growing importance of information, and innovations in digital communications technology, are changing our society. It is furthermore deeply connected with the discourse on the postmodern society, which emphasizes cultural fragmentation, intertextuality, and pluralism. The Internet age is characterized by increasing masses of information that are managed through various technologies. While 1990s Internet technologies often used the network as a traditional broadcasting channel with added interactivity, Web 2.0 technologies are specifically designed to utilize the network model by facilitating communication between various services and devices, and analyzing the relationships between users and objects in order to produce intelligent insight. The wide adoption of the Internet, and recently of Internet-enabled mobile devices, is furthermore continuously producing new ways of communicating, consuming, and producing. Applications of the social Web, such as social media or social networking services, are permanently changing our traditional social, cultural, and economic practices. The study first presents an overview of the post-industrial society, the Internet, and the concept of Web 2.0. Then the concept of social Web is described with an analysis of the term social media, the brief histories of the interactive Web and social networking services, and a description of the concept ―long tail‖, used to represent the masses of information available in the Web that do not receive mainstream attention. Finally, methods for retrieving and filtering information, modeling social and cultural relationships, and communicating with customers, are presented.

Kulttuuritapahtumatuotanto 2.0 : verkkosovellukset modernin kulttuuritapahtumatuotannon projektinhallinnan apuvälineinä

Opinnäytetyö selvittää, minkälaisia verkkosovelluksia kulttuurialan tapahtumatuotanto-organisaatiot käyttävät projektinhallintansa apuvälineinä. Miten sovelluksia hyödynnetään ja minkälaisia haasteita niistä mahdollisesti aiheutuu käyttäjille? Työssä käydään myös läpi verkkosovellusten käytön ja muutenkin organisaatioiden verkottumisen myötä tulleita haasteita ja ratkaisumalleja. Verkkosovelluksista keskitytään vain kaikille vapaisiin ja ilmaisiin sovelluksiin. Esitellyt sovellukset ovat helppokäyttöisiä ja helposti muokattavissa moneen eri käyttötarkoitukseen. Web 2.0 -maailma on tuonut mukanaan monenlaisia monikäyttöisiä verkkosovelluksia. Kulttuuritapahtumatuotanto-organisaatiot ovat alkaneet ottaa sovelluksia käyttöön myös projektinhallintatehtävissään. Monet sovelluksista tarjoavat hyvän apuvälineen pienelle tai vähän suuremmallekin tapahtumatuotanto-organisaatiolle, jolla ei välttämättä riittäisi resursseja isompaan projektinhallintatyökaluohjelmistoon. Pääasiallisena aineistona on käytetty kahta kulttuuritapahtumatuotantoalan ammattilaisen haastattelua. Tapausesimerkeiksi valitut kaksi organisaatiota ovat keskenään hieman erilaisia. Toinen edustaa perinteisemmin toimivaa organisaatiota ja toinen kollaboratiivisemmin toimivaa, verkottuneempaa organisaatiota. Työ havainnollistaa, kuinka verkkosovelluksista on eri tavoin hyötyä molemmille organisaatiotyypeille. Haastattelujen tavoitteena oli saada syvempää tietoa kyseisten kulttuuritapahtumatuotanto-organisaation projektinhallinnasta yleensä ja verkkosovellusten roolista siinä. Verkkosovellusten mahdollistamat hyödyt eivät ole laajasti eri alojen ammattilaisten tiedossa. Molempien työssä esiteltyjen organisaatioiden työryhmät ovat levittäytyneet moniin eri kaupunkeihin tai maihin. Työssä esitellään organisaatioiden eri paikoissa olevien jäsenten toimintaa ja verkkosovellusten hyötyä työryhmän välisessä työskentelyssä. Verkkosovellusten kanssa työskennellessään organisaatiot kohtaavat mahdollisesti uudenlaisia henkilöstöhallinnallisia haasteita. Työryhmän motivointi ja osallistaminen ovat yksi muutenkin tärkeä haaste, joka verkottuneesti toimivien organisaatioiden työskentelyssä tulee entistä vahvemmin esille.

Backpacker 2.0 - Contemporary backpackers and their use of social media as an information and communication platform

Long-term independent budget travel to countries far away has become increasingly common over the last few decades, and backpacking has now entered the tourism mainstream. Nowadays, backpackers are a very important segment of the global travel market. Backpacking is a type of tourism that involves a lot of information search activities. The Internet has become a major source of information as well as a platform for tourism business transactions. It allows travelers to gain information very effortlessly and to learn about tourist destinations and products directly from other travelers in the form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Social media has penetrated and changed the backpacker market, as now modern travelers can stay connected to people at home, read online recommendations, and organize and book their trips very independently. In order to create a wider understanding on modern-day backpackers and their information search and share behavior in the Web 2.0 era, this thesis examined contemporary backpackers and their use of social media as an information and communication platform. In order to achieve this goal, three sub-objectives were identified: 1. to describe contemporary backpacker tourism 2. to examine contemporary backpackers’ travel information search and share behavior 3. to explore the impacts of new information and communications technologies and Web 2.0 on backpacker tourism The empirical data was gathered with an online survey, thus the method of analysis was mainly quantitative, and a qualitative method was used for a brief analysis of open questions. The research included both descriptive and analytical approaches, as the goal was to describe modern-day backpackers, and to examine possible interdependencies between information search and share behavior and background variables. The interdependencies were tested for statistical significance with the help of five research hypotheses. The results suggested that backpackers no longer fall under the original backpacker definitions described some decades ago. Now, they are mainly short-term travelers, whose trips resemble more those of mainstream tourists. They use communication technologies very actively, and particularly social media. Traditional information sources, mainly guide books and recommendations from friends, are of great importance to them but also eWOM sources are widely used in travel decision making. The use of each source varies according to the stage of the trip. All in all, Web 2.0 and new ICTs have transformed the backpacker tourism industry in many ways. Although the experience has become less authentic in some travelers’ eyes, the backpacker culture is still recognizable.

Ajax: Web-sovellusten uudet mahdollisuudet

Tässä työssä selvitettiin Ajax-tekniikan tilannetta web-sovellusten kehityksessä. Sitä varten kehitettiin demosovellus, jonka avulla tekniikoiden käyttökelpoisuutta voitiin arvioida. Samalla työssä on esitelty eri tekniikoita, jotka liittyvät kiinteästi Ajax-sovellusten toteuttamiseen. Demosovellus tehtiin vapaalla LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) -alustalla. Työssä on arvioitu Ajax-tekniikan käyttökelpoisuutta ja ongelmia nykyisen webin, web-kehittäjien, käytössä olevien selainten ja käyttäjien kannalta. Lopussa on myös pohdittu hieman webin tulevaisuutta ja Ajaxin osaa siinä.

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