Have you upgraded your thinking to Web 2.0?
The term “Web 2.0” annoys me. And I’m not the only one who feels that way. Nonetheless, having a term to describe the fact that the Web is evolving is a useful. I’m getting used to it, and it’s definitely influencing my thinking about content management.
So, here’s why Web 2.0 bugs me. It implies that there was some defining moment that marked the shift from the original Web to the next Web. It did help to read the O’Reilly article that explains What Is Web 2.0? (Tim O’Reilly originally coined the term.) In this article, he cites the dot-com crash as that defining moment. Everything before the bubble burst was 1.0, everything after is 2.0. Ok. I’ll can sort of buy into that.
Realistically, though, the shift in the Web was not a point in time. It was a blur—as is every natural evolution.
In my opinion, Web 2.0 is an evolution of:
- Information conceived as pages – to – Information as components to mix and match
- The Web being shaped by large organizations – to – The Web being shaped by its users
- Relying on structure to find content to – to – The content being inherently findable
- Customers at the mercy of vendors – to – Vendors having to listen to customers
- A one-way conversation – to – a two- or three, or four-way conversation
Overall, this evolution is very positive. It empowers us as users, it increases knowledge sharing, and it’s scary, too. Too much central control can be bad. Not enough control can also be bad. It’s known as chaos. I predict that this Web 2.0 evolution will follow what I call the “Big Bang Theory of Business”—which is another topic that I’ll write about in the coming weeks—basically a pattern of expanding and collapsing as a way to find the optimal state of being.
In the meantime, even if you also think Web 2.0 is an unfortunate name, I encourage you to take the time to read more about it from O’Reilly and elsewhere. If nothing else, it’ll upgrade the way your think about the Web.
Here are just a few resources and other (similar) opinions on the subject:
- http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html"
- http://www.paulgraham.com/web20.html
- http://www.andybudd.com/dcontruct05/
- http://blog.del.icio.us/blog/2005/11/there_has_been_.html
Rita Warren of ZiaContent, Inc. is a veteran of the software and digital media industries with more than 10 years experience helping companies deliver content in compelling and sensible ways. Well known in her field, Rita served as technical editor of the first edition of Bob Boiko's acclaimed book, the Content Management Bible. She is a frequent speaker at national conferences and contributor to content management industry publications.
