More On The Definition of Web 2.0 ...

I've talked previously on this blog about Web 2.0 being like evolution, and I demonstrated some examples that I had come across. I think that particular view is a little more oriented toward the history of computers and therein data writ large, but that doesn't mean that it is necessarily incorrect or obsolete. It follows that as computers have evolved, so have the ways that we use them. Web 2.0 is an extension of how we use the computers and how computers, in turn, interact with us.

Today as I was browsing through the net, making my usual rounds, I came across an article written some months back on another blog. I figure the article contents are relevant here, given that this blog ( is concerned with, well, WEB 2.0!

From the article, I thought this was pretty funny:

The term itself is now trademarked and spawned a flurry of useless conferences where everyone gets together to talk about the conversations they have already had online.

Anyone interested should check out the comments section of that page, and add your own 2 cents if it's that important to you.

One thing I really appreciate and enjoy about Web 2.0 is the use of the internet as a platform, and making the web a tool that (any)one can use. That's genius! Web apps! What a concept! Taking our applications from local drives and personal computers and freeing up that limited space by running things from servers just makes me all giddy inside. I love that I can start a document, upload it to a server, allow my colleagues to access the file, modify it, and then upload a new version. For me this system is so helpful. It is efficient, and I like that.

I have to also be impressed by how well Web 2.0 lends itself to marketing and flat-out money making. To that end, for some, Web 2.0 is just a new marketing gimmick. It's a new forum to be exploited in new, profit making ways. I don't think there's anything wrong with that; profit and capitalism do bring about a lot of innovation, and innovation (i.e, new ideas) brings about change and improvement. Improvement is good, if we learn anything from the new internet economy and the dot-com crash of 2000, it is that if you stay still too long in this new economy you will very quickly become outdated and will be left behind.

Another aspect of Web 2.0 that gets talked about a lot is how it is a socially supported web culture. Which is to say, that since a lot of Web 2.0 is dependent upon user interaction with not only the site itself, but other visitors and users of the site, it very naturally breeds an organic network. Sites like MySapce and FaceBook have seized upon this idea, and it has spilled over into the news media with the social bookmarking sites like Reddit and Digg.

Of course, if you really want to know, you can always just check here.