Web Design '08 Conference Session Descriptions

Already 12% of web traffic is to Web 2.0 sites. And even though Web 2.0 has been widely touted as the future of the Internet, a lot of confusion exists as to exactly what Web 2.0 is. Some define it as a technology that enables new things to happen and others define it as a set of capabilities that open up web sites to new content and techniques. Still others say it's both. This session will help retailers understand Web 2.0—both the applications on retailer's web sites and on other sites that are of interest to retailers and the technology that makes the applications possible. On the technology front, this session will examine rich media, new navigation methods and technology that broadens the content at a web site. On the content side, it will look at what new content on a retail web site the technology makes possible, such as richer images, more interactive information and consumer-generated information. And it will examine content outside of retail sites—such as social networking sites and comparison shopping sites—that retailers should be interested in. Our speakers are an executive of a web design company that has helped retailers understand and harness Web 2.0 and a retailer who has deployed Web 2.0 technology to provide instant information and images of products without requiring shoppers to click to a new page and an application that helps them choose the product that's right for them.