Jason,

Interesting perspective. Without speaking to the merits of a particular product or vendor, I would rather like to highlight my perspective on the industry's desire to migrate to web 2.0. I can't help but think back to a situation just 9 years ago when everyone was rushing to become an eBusiness. Back then there was a belief that an eBusiness was different and unique from a traditional "bricks-and-mortar" business. All the big consultancies established eBusiness practices, there were eBusiness strategists, etc. In the end eBusiness was just an evolution of business and an extra dimension. Now the word eBusiness has since vanished from our vocabulary.

I believe the same is true with web 2.0. The transition to user-generated content via wikis, blogs, podcasting, video sharing, social networking, etc is not going to replace traditional web applications but rather evolve them. The migration to "web 2.0" features are simply a shift by the market to make applications more user friendly and engaging - increasing the stickiness of any given website. Since there is a desire to enable user-generated content the shift in look and feel associated with Web 2.0 is not a new set of applications and technology but rather the realization that if user-generated content is to be successful, users need to be able to generate content easily.

The shift in design philosophy is predicated upon a desire to evolve functionality just as much as it is about Darwinism at its purest form. Just as life on earth adapted to its surroundings due to the need to survive/evolve (unless this theory conflicts with one's personal religious beliefs), web applications have too evolved out of necessity - developing new features to sustain continued existence.

I mention this not to highlight a "told you so" point in past technology evolution, but rather to highlight that the responsibility in assisting with an organization's evolution lies with the HR community. I've too often seen HR being pulled into new technology by others within the organization, resisting the shift to new technology due to concern about how others will deal with the change.

Technology is changing extremely fast and HR needs to be prepared to rapidly change with it. The industry needs to not only adapt, but take a leadership position in helping to drive these changes, supporting technology innovation in the workplace, removing traditional barriers to the adoption of user-generated content (communication policies, firewall restrictions, etc). Employees will either embrace the change in direction or simply find ways around the restrictions placed before them. The Web 2.0 transition occurred so quickly that many organizations did not see it coming, and are now desperately attempting to catch up. By the time they catch up, things will evolved again and the original goal simply becomes another starting point.

I believe 2008 is not just about HR embracing web 2.0, but about how HR responds to web 2.0 simply becoming the web. User-generated content completely shifts the playing field and HR needs to be prepared to transition from being the referee to becoming the coach. No small challenge, but one to which you and others in this space are up to tackling.