What is Web 2.0?
February 11, 2007 | By Raymond T. Hightower
Forbes Magazine published a historical observation during the 1990’s Internet gold rush. “New technologies go through three phases: Mania, bankruptcy, and rebirth. It’s mania time on the Internet.” That was 1996. Where are we now?
From Bankruptcy to Rebirth
A few years later we went through the dot-com meltdown that all of us remember. Companies that became household names overnight are either extinct or they’ve been absorbed into other companies. Remember Netscape? Sapient? Razorfish?
Now, as we enter “rebirth”, pundits have chosen to label this phase Web 2.0. But what exactly is Web 2.0?
Web 2.0 Video Essay
Michael Wesch, a professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University, says that “Web 2.0 is linking people… people sharing, trading, and collaborating.” He has sought to define Web 2.0 in a very compelling video essay.
What Version of Google?
One question we might ask ourselves: Do version numbers matter in an age of continuous improvement. For example, what version of Google do you run? What version of Yahoo? I don’t know how to answer those questions. I only know that some companies do a great job of improving their sites (web-based applications?) on a continuous basis.
What an exciting time to be alive!