Web2.0 is now, and it's here. If you're not Web2.0, you're out like 2005. If you have to ask, you wouldn't understand.
Well, I have to admit, I need to ask. In fact, I have several questions about all this Web2.0 fanfare.
Why should I upgrade? How much will it cost me? How come nobody has it in stock when I try to buy it?
I've been making my living doing web stuff since 1996, and I never got my copy of Web1.0. I didn't even realize it had been released. Now I just sit and nod in meetings where people talk about "synergistic solutions", or throw in a "user comprehensible value prop" in such a way that you just scratch your head and think it must mean something. "This needs to be Web2.0" is a favorite of mine. Whatever Web2.0 is, obviously it's critical to the success of new projects. (I need to remember to remember that for my next project.)
Who owns Web2.0? For now, I guess the safe assumption is that Google does. That would explain both all the ballyhoo as well as the mystery surrounding this next generation breakthrough. Ask someone at work what Web2.0 is and you'll likely get the curly brows and a loud "Pffft!", in which case you just give them a, "... I guess some of the folks in this meeting haven't gotten the Web2.1 pre-release yet ..." and give them the reverse curly brows and a subtle sigh.
Look around for Web2.0 and you will no doubt find everyone talking about it, but you're not likely to actually find an example of it. I found no screenshots on Google Images. No info on where to order it or how to install it. However, I do think I'll be able to recognize it once I find it. I know it will have an "API". I know it will also be very clean because it requires Ajax. It will probably involve pastels contrasted with ridiculously bright primary colors.
It will also have a very fancy look to it. I imagine the email icon above probably isn't very Web2.0. (though I'm not claiming to be a Web2.0 authority, of course.
And I'm sure all the experts would agree that this RSS icon is definitely Web2.0.. However, my failure to convert the white background to transparent is probably more web 1.1 or so.
If you know as little about Web2.0 as I do, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If there's anything to it, I'm sure we'll all be getting 3000 free hours of it in the mail from AOL real soon.