Sunday, December 04, 2005

"Beta" Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is a highly hyped buzzword that describes the current state of the web. Tim O'Reilly provides what is considered the seminal description of Web 2.o here.

Not only do I find it curious that people need to give the current state of the web a name like Web 2.0, but I find it to be quite an oxymoron given that one of the main attributes of a Web 2.0 site is that is in a continuos Beta; meaning that is never finished. What is the point of giving it a version number if it can never be finished?! Especially since this "never finished" attribute has existed for many websites since the beginning of the web? Why not call it The Web Today?

While I don't disagree with anything that is attributed to Web 2.0, I do think it focuses too much on philosphy and technology and not enough of substance and value; things that people will actually use and pay for. How much free stuff can people keep providing before it all collapses; again?!

The most level-headed writter about Web 2.0 is Dion Hinchcliffe; his excellent blog is here.

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