Another Web 2.0 Definition
Posted by Erica DeWolf on November 26, 2007
Because the Web 2.0 term is such a buzzword, I constantly find myself going back to my original posted definition so that I can remain consistent with how I am using the term. Therefore, I am always grateful when a quality article or blog post appears which takes another stab at defining the term. An article appearing on Silicon’s Web Watch, acts as a Cheat Sheet for everything Web 2.0.
The author, Will Sturgeon, simply defines Web 2.o, “in the simplest terms … [as] ‘the second coming’ of the internet,” and a reason for online investors to once again get all excited about dot com investments. Sturgeon continues by providing his readers with examples of things that fall under the Web 2.0 tree, including social networking, user generated content sites such as Blogger and wikis, and the “Godfather of Web 2.0″- Google.
The unique section of this article is next, where the author talks about Web 2.0 as it applies to the middle-man, as opposed to the end user. This includes Web 2.0 mash ups between similar online services (Google’s OpenSocial initiative..MySpace communicating with Bebo, for example). Also, the online applications that businesses are using instead of installing the software onto their own machine is a Web 2.0 trend. This is referred to as “software as a service” (SaaS).
As you can see, the Web 2.0 term can not be defined or explained in a simple definition. In his article, Sturgeon does an excellent job of summarizing the term completely in as few words possible. I would encourage anybody interested in the Web 2.0 movement to read his words in order to understand the “buzzword” as fully as possible.
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