McKinsey’s second annual survey on the business use of Web 2.0 technologies – including wikis, blogs, social networks and mash ups – illustrated that smaller businesses were disappointed in most of these technology tools.  While over 50% of large businesses are effectively putting new technologies to use for internal, workflow, marketing, customer relations, and strategic purposes, less than a quarter of small businesses were satisfied with Web 2.0 tools and many intended to stop using them.

The primary problem is that Web tools do not bring real people together in real time and space.  For small businesses, location remains an important factor as their markets are local. Most small businesses have not been able to harness Web 2.0 tools to generate commercial value by extending their reach, providing responsive commercial offers, or by engaging local customers in selecting products or services. The technical complexity, implementation, and costs of most social networking tools are a disincentive for smaller businesses.

Through the augmented reality aspects of Imagined Communities we address many of these problems with a simple, timely and very cost effective method to both expand the reach of the smaller business and communicate in real time with local customers.  The addition of a visual symbol (glif) to the virtual and/or real business front denotes that additional information is available.  This information can take nearly limitless form, such as: hours of operation, product specials and real time pricing, hiring and recruiting, customer surveys on desired products and services, opportunities for employee training, business to business opportunities, product ratings, improving customer service, acquiring new customers in existing markets, linking the business to the community, and gaining supplier participation

In short, the use of augmentation tools is limited only by the imagination.  Initially, this program works with selected neighborhood businesses toward illustrating and realizing the potential and putting simple tools into the hands of the businesses and the community.

Economic benefits to small businesses include:

• Business information; hours of operations, etc.
• Real-time pricing, specials and new product offers
• Customer feedback on desired products and services
• Expanded commercial reach beyond the specific location.
• Opening business-to-business opportunities.

The city benefits from Imagined Communities by enhanced neighborhood identity, providing a platform for funneling resources, investment, businesses and tourism into neighborhoods. From a marketing standpoint, Imagined Communities puts the city in the spotlight as an innovator in education and technology, with public relations and branding opportunities surrounding the high-profile partners who will assist in implementing the realized community visions, affording commercial tie-ins and increased political capital.