I am so tired of the term “Web 2.0”. When ever I see that that term bandied about, I get a mental flashback to an old Verizon commercial where a consultant is pronouncing the word paradigm as “Pair-Uh-Dig-Um”. It’s another example of “buzzword bingo”. What does it mean? And I do mean that specificly.
You get the impression that there is a line drawn somewhere, that separates “Web 1.0” from “Web 2.0”. As near as I can tell, the definition du jour of “Web 2.0” is that it’s interactive web services with dynamic content and social participation. That right there is vague enough to mean anything and nothing. Now I’m starting to blog postings that describe “Web 2.0” as a metaphysical process. This isn’t Aug. 16, 1987, people. Let’s just look at the web for what it is, a means of communication, and leave the mumbo-jumbo stuff out of it.
Nicholas Carr has a great article, “The amorality of Web 2.0”, that pretty much nails how I feel about this thing. Joel Spolsky (required reading for anyone in software development) has a very good rant “Architecture Astronauts Are Back”, with a followup with the links to see what made him crazy (but crazy in a good way).