Dodge Communications

It was only a decade ago that technology insiders prophesized a change in the way that the Internet would be used. Darcy Dinucci’s 1999 article, “Fragmented Future,” predicted the emergence of an interactive Internet, where users would not just read published material, but would contribute to the content of the site. Deemed Web 2.0, these interactive sites have helped shape the Internet over the last few years. Millions of people now share content worldwide through Facebook; students conduct research for term papers through Wikis written by other people; and millions joined in Ashton Kutcher’s race to one million followers on Twitter – and then thousands watched as Kutcher proceeded to “ding dong ditch” Ted Turner live on Ustream, CNN and other Internet streaming sites.

Despite the popularity of Web 2.0, the predictions of monetary gains that would dwarf Amazon and Yahoo never materialized. However, the rapid expansion of Web 2.0 through social media sites such as Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn has led those same insiders to predict the Internet’s evolution to Web 3.0 – which will take the Internet to another level for users and supposedly help those operating the Web sites to make a significant amount of money in the process. So what is Web 3.0 and how will it impact healthcare marketing, communications and advertising?

Defining Web 3.0. (aka “The Semantic Web”)

While Web 2.0 is characterized by its efforts to make the Internet easier to navigate and its focus on social interactions, Web 3.0 will move us from present-day “clunkier” searching to richer URL structure with a greater depth of information and improved search results. Already, Bing – Microsoft’s latest search engine – is billing itself as “the cure for search overload” and is claiming that it will help reduce the irrelevant and random search results. Web 3.0 search engines promise pinpoint precision in their results, just as Bing guarantees.

Web 3.0 will impact the way that healthcare companies market themselves online and the amount of time companies put into their Web site. As Web 3.0 gains ground with users, healthcare companies will have to increase their efforts to keep their Web sites relevant. Since the Semantic Web will incorporate logic and syntax, page designers and copy writers will have to make sure that any and all information users need is incorporated into the Web site so that it will show up in search results.

What benefits will Web 3.0 bring?

Web 3.0 will:

• Allow us to search using complex sentences. In the new Web 3.0 protocol, users will be able to type the sentence “I want to find a PR firm that specializes in healthcare” into a search engine, and if we have done our job well, Dodge Communications’ Web site will be the first result.
• Help us reap more relevant search results. As you use a Web 3.0 browser, it will get to know you the way a personal assistant might. Over time, your browser should be able to respond with fair logic and accuracy to questions like, “What should I have for breakfast?”
• Bring the individualization of TiVo and Pandora to the entire Internet. Imagine a world where the Web understands you. This is 3.0 – the ultimate individualized intelligent Internet, where your personal preferences and tastes dictate what information is shown.

How should we prepare?

Web 3.0 will mean that healthcare marketers and advertisers will be required to think of new ways to build levels of information into Web sites and will force sites to create connectivity in the information so that search engines stream relevant sites to users.

For healthcare marketers and public relations professionals, this new wave of the Internet will mean staying responsive to the environment, even as Web 3.0 continues to be defined. It will demand that Web site owners experiment with ways to offer portals of accessibility to viewers who are ultimately seeking specific information, which is individually tailored for their view of the world and of the Web.