The idea behind these Web 2.0 marketing and communication tools is to revamp a static web site into a continuously evolving experience, where customers are better connected with video, audio and photos as well as community generated content. As technology becomes increasingly more networked and interrelated, the possibility of a personalized media that is always on and always connected is rapidly becoming a reality.

This is a real advantage for online marketers who now have easy access to a multitude of new technologies that enable them to reach clients and customers virtually anywhere around the world.

An explosion of low cost communications and marketing tools such as podcasts, blogs, RSS and videocasts offer online marketers endless possibilities. It’s just a question of jumping in and leveraging these easily available tools to generate a buzz around your service or product. Possibly the biggest short term impact of Web 2 0 will be the complete transformation in the way companies and customers communicate and accumulate information.

Statistics reveal that an astounding 660,000 entrepreneurs are already capitalizing on the enormous potential of the web to advertise and market their products and services to new customers. Of these, over 400,000 mid size and small businesses are advertising themselves using blogs and videocasts whereas about 260,000 are employing podcasts. Are they successful? The profiles of these Web 2.0 companies show a phenomenal leap in profit margins.

Even before the emergence of Web 2.0, people were capable of streamlining communications and accomplishing most of the tasks that Web 2.0 enabled them to do. However it took far more effort. Before the advent of blogging, companies maintained daily journals by employing a text editor to upload daily changes onto an HTML web site or posting on older electronic boards that were more rigid. It worked, but it was way too cumbersome.

Web 2.0 offers a huge leap forward, making a hefty difference in both time and cost savings. It may mean something as insignificant as sharing information within one minute rather than three or using one click instead of five. But that small, seemingly inconsequential step has had huge and diverse ramifications.

Another ostensibly small change with enormous consequences is the development of the new bottom up orientation. Network administrators who defined groups have now given way to web users who typify their own circles.

Users who at one time had to be satisfied just reading about the product can now easily assess it and share their opinions with others quickly and resourcefully. They can even create whole communities around it. Used properly, this can be an exceptional opportunity for businesses.

It's clear that Web 2.0 marketing tools and techniques have made considerable strides in the areas of usability, cost, and time savings. It will only continue to grow as businesses are willing to use these technologies in creative ways.