Recycling 2.0

Well, we are in the middle of convention season. It is time to say "So long" to family and friends and head out to Las Vegas, Atlanta, New Orleans, Orlando, Chicago, wherever the next conference is.

While business travel can be a burden, especially when the work back at the office still has to get done, conferences and seminars offer tremendous advantages.

Meeting customers, contacts, vendors and others affiliated with the industry is one of these advantages. A visit to a show may result in the sale of a piece of equipment, the development of a new business deal or just provide the chance to catch up with long-time friends in the industry.

Supplementing the meet and greet is the next phase of the Internet, what is being called Web 2.0. It essentially takes the original concept of the Internet and adds components to facilitate information sharing, communication and collaboration. These components can include blogs, Web-based communities, hosted services, video sharing services and social and business networking sites.

A company’s Web site may have information on its products and services, a description and perhaps history of the company and maybe contact names and numbers. This real estate does not seek out new business; it waits for business to come to it.

The effective use of these new Web services can enhance and expand a company’s reach. Whether it is Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter or a host of other sites, many of these second-generation Web components seek to create community.

A company that demonstrates its products at a trade show can enhance that by posting a video of the equipment in action on its Web site. Those looking to buy or sell a load of a particular material can access one of the myriad sites where business deals are made. And a company looking for more visibility can put up information on a social networking site or link to an existing group with similar interests.

While these new tools can improve a company’s visibility, it isn’t a guarantee. For most companies, it is not a replacement for more traditional networking, rather a way to enhance and extend its existing business model.

We’d like our readers to know that the Recycling Today Media Group does not just "talk the talk," we have established pages on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. These resources, along with our publications’ traditional Web sites (www.
recyclingtoday.com, www.recyclingtodayglobal.com, www.cdrecycler.com and www.sdbmagazine.com), allow us to offer information in many ways.

If you are interested in networking with us online, look for us on the various sites.