Ok, ok, maybe there actually is something to this Web2.0 business. A lot of the Web2.0 hype stems from the maturation of blogging, the software that helps people blog and RSS. All of these are good and bad things. Good in that there's more information available to more people today than ever before. Bad because there's more information available to more people today than ever before. Even before the term "blog" was coined, people were publishing personal journals, ramblings and general rants on the web. It was as true ten years ago as it is now, most of this content is... well... not very interesting to most people. Maybe it's poorly written blather about why someone hasn't posted poorly written blather recently. Or maybe it's well written content on a very specialized topic that is only relevant to a small number of people.
Good, bad, relevant, meaningless, it's all out there somewhere. The key to finding it is RSS. I used to subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. I'd poke through it every day and read a sentence or two and then tossed it in the recycling bin. The fact is, my interest in polotics, world affairs, sports, gardening, real estate and used cars is pretty limited, and that's all you're going to read about in most newspapers. My interests are elsewhere. Software programming, guns, literature, skiing, and so on. The best way to feed my desire for information is to turn to the web. But turning to the web for information is like visiting Niagra Falls for a sip of water. It's just too much. You need something like Google, Yahoo or now RSS to filter the information for you.
Will Web2.0 ever mean anything? Absolutely. I believe Web2.0 will eventually become something even grandma can understand. Presentation will be fast and flexible (AJAX, DHTML). Content will be tightly filtered with RSS. Folks can easily take advantage of all this stuff now with sites such as Feedster (update: now dead) and Feedburner. And all of this falls under the annoying label of Web2.0. This site is dedicated to Drupal. One of the things I wanted to provide was an aggregate feed of the most relevant Drupal news available. So using Drupal's aggregator module, I began creating the Drupal news page. You'd think that would be a simple task, but it isn't. With so many feeds, and so many feeds of feeds, and so much information available, pulling down just the right content is still very hard, and I still don't have the desired page I want. But the fact that it is even possible is something I'm very excited about. Here's a link to the story I was going to originally write about before my ADHD kicked in: The bottom line on blogging.
Well, already we've seen BlogLog being acquired. I think the Web 2.0 companies are having a field day but I do think Web 2.0 is a little bit of hype and the business model of having subscribers (but not paid subscribers) might just break the dreams in bright day light.
I was doing research on Web 2.0 and I've never really grasped the concept. I guess the "Web 2.0" likes to apply a certain feel, look to it. But other than that, it's the internet evolving, that's all.
Just wait until Web 2.5 comes out, it'll be even better. Does anyone remember Web 1.5 as I don't recall that version.
I still don't really know what does Web2.o entail.I never really grasped the concept of it.
Great blog by the way !
Organic traffic is the most reliable? I have to disagree, the whole point of Digg, and these social search engines is that results are ranked based on human votes. Google and most search engines rank websites based on automated processes, and the information may not be quite as reliable as a search engine that ranks results based on human votes. This is not to say that Google isn't a good search engine, it is. But there may be websites you'd never find if it weren't for social web 2.0 sites such as Digg or Technorati.
That's unfortunate because 2.0 is all around us now, and it will be for some time until we transition even further. Social connectivity was the spawn of the 2.0 era, combining and integrating will be web 3.0.
Hmmm - A phrase comes to mind about "just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there". WEB 2.0 was probably a bad choice of names but social networking has definitely taken hold and I understand didn't go in the direction experts had predicted. As I understand it was supposed to create a better place to find information easier than using search engines (search engines have a lot of advertising), but the same thing happened with social networking (WEB 2.0) advertising crept into it as well. I believe when the internet was first born the tech guys didn't expect/like advertising getting in the way then either. I think its very hard to have a place to retrieve information without advertising getting involved......
i know this is an old post, but I just had to give a succinct update as to what web 2.0 has become:
An over-hyped, meaningless term used to describe a general era in web computing, as characterized by user-to-user, and continuously updated, dynamic experiences. But mostly just fluff and hype that was initiated by O'riely, and never halted by common sense.
Randy - home owners insurance blog
oh, and one more thing. we are now on to web 3.0. bringing meaningless to a whole new level. when will it ever end
It's very exciting to live in the time of Web 2.0. However, it makes me wonder how simple webpages like mine (http://onewisemedia.com/donate-real-estate/) will attract the attention necessary to be "top listed" on RSS feeds or search engines.
Web2.0 in general is website that enables interaction from the visitors to the website and with the webmaster of that website. Blog is one good example of web2.0. Blog creation are on the rise day by day and over 112 million blogs to date. Interaction is one point of it, polling, comments and reviews can be all be Web2.0 functions too!
Houston Blog
With this new trend towards "micro" blogging are we sliding right into Web 3.0? With Twitter, Friend Feed and the like I wonder if there will be a new age where everyone has a personal node on the web where we are all linked together with friends from our past and present, while sending short messages about what we are doing at every given moment. *shudder* Kelvin Lam
To me, most of the up and coming web 2.0 sites like digg, technorati etc. reward a certain niche of content... i.e. sensational, a little controversial... anything that grabs the eye. That is a shame because a lot of good useful content out there gets buried because by nature it isn't eye catching... but may be good timeless wisdom - which goes unnoticed. Perhaps good content will win out eventually without the sensationalism of web 2.0 traffic.
I'm not very familiar with most of this stuff, but it interests me greatly. I'll be sure to check out your Drupal news page.
Todd Beardsley
Todd@MenloAthertonRealty.com
I can only agree with you that web 2.0 will become something that everyone understands. Even though a lot of tech people are tyred of the term, i think it is great to explain what has happened with the web.
I agree that there needs to be some way to explain the changes the Internet has gone through. Just like the term "google" is now in the dictionary, the term web 2.0 will become something very important also.
http://www.dp-db.com/pc-booster
I think the biggest advantage of Web2.0 is the interactivity that is so common now. It has turned the internet from something where you just do research to where you can really feel a part of a community. I wonder what Web 3.0 will bring, as many people have already mentioned!
http://www.dp-db.com/seo-press-formula
I agree with your analogy about sipping from a waterfall. With so much content being added every second, finding a way to filter is essential. When I was first in real estate, I was found on the first page without any problem or any effort - there just was no competition! But conversely, there was not much choice in results from searches. Now, you know that the data is there somewhere - it's finding the right filter to find it. Annie Brunson
Well, as in Internet Marketing web2.0 is basically just a trendy word for social bookmarking, RSS, things like that.
More "interactive" content than years ago when most pages where still static.
G.
well I'm already ok with google and yahoo and its already better than newspapers and if the web 2.0 is as good as you say then maybe we won't even need a newspaper
http://www.chickmagnetstuff.com
I think WEB 2.0 is a modified web based platform this is where programmers could create powerful softwares and it can be use by any OS which is great and it can be access anywhere with an internet connection makes it convinient. http://www.chickmagnetstuff.com/
Web 2.0 is now actually used quite frequenty and we are seeing some stunning sites that class themselves as 2.0
Websites that are more interactive and use video navigation have even started calling themselves web 3.0 - it is never going to end.
Harry@ second hand surfboards
If one whants to market a product, are they better off using web 2.0 applications or search engines.