Businesses have been warned that they face being left behind in the world of ecommerce if they do not keep up with the rapidly growing world of social computing.
Speaking at the Internet World conference at London's Earls Court, experts insisted that the growth of Web 2.0 technology means that businesses are now forced to interact with their customers rather than simply dictate to them.
"Content is not longer king, contact with the customer is king," said Rebecca Jennings, senior analyst at Forrester.
"The medium is not the message, the customer response is the message and it is not what you say that is important, it is what the customers say to you."
The growth of blogging, social networking and online communities has meant the world of online marketing is changing irrevocably, it was claimed.
Glenn Drury of Yahoo! Europe reported that two billion emails are sent each day and there are now 100 million Yahoo Groups.
He said it is imperative for businesses to interact with this medium. "You do not communicate with people now; you have to have a conversation," he added.
And David Soskin, the chief executive of Cheapflights, said the real growth is yet to come.
"The age group spending most time on the internet is 16 to 24-year-olds so the best is yet to come for internet companies," he said.
