Odd question...

[El Guru (Al)]

Since there is no such thing as a stupid question, so I'll call this an odd question:  What exactly is Web 2.0?

[Chris Rossini]

The best explanation that I've ever come across was from an essay by Paul Graham:

http://www.paulgraham.com/web20.html

[Ryan Wagner]

That is a really good definition. I guess I instinctively thought of it as AJAX which allows you to complete tasks on a website without needing to refresh the page. Maybe a quick definition would be "a site that has the look and feel of a desktop application"?

[Rockpeteuk]

web 3.0 on its way ahhhhhhh

http://blogs.zdnet.com/SAAS/?p=68

one of my mates said something abotu 3.0 yesterday and this is the only reliable source i could find..

[Ryan Wagner]

Anything about Web 3.0 is just speculation at this point...I think Wikipedia had an article about all of the speculation but they removed it since it was so inaccurate. People say that you won't know what Web 3.0 is until it gets here.

[Nogg3r5]

Web 2 Point-who-cares?  Its not that exciting, it will pass. Perhaps. Its just a phase of innovation.

[curtissthompson]

This is rather late from the initial post time of this topic...but I thought I'd share the video that has traversed what seems to be the entire web/blogosphere several times in the past month or so:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/6gmP4nk0EOE&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/6gmP4nk0EOE&rel=0</a>

best explanation of web 2.0 I know of.  Great video production value and fantastic combination of concrete and abstract though processes into one; the actual explanation of web 2.0 in a very artistic way.  It's by far my favorite video on the Internet for that reason.  Extremely impressive.

[OldManDeath]

That was a really well done video and pretty informative.

[Ryan Wagner]

I've seen that video before, and whoever thought that one up is really clever. Some people are so creative when it comes to some things and that is a shining example of creativity!

[MetaMan]

That video was great.  I remember having this discussion with a friend the other day.  I must send the text hypertext link to him.

[Tink]

From what I have seen, Web 2 is mostly about Web Apps. Personally I really don't want to put my personal data on some web site. To do so is just crazy.

Call me paranoid but companies like Google already have you, if you use half their services. Its just too much!

Just my opinion.

[Ryan Wagner]

From what I have seen, Web 2 is mostly about Web Apps. Personally I really don't want to put my personal data on some web site. To do so is just crazy.

Call me paranoid but companies like Google already have you, if you use half their services. Its just too much!

Just my opinion.

Sometimes I feel that way, so I am just careful about what I use the online services for. I don't trust any one company to store all of my information, and I wonder how people would take it if Google released a file storage service that could backup your entire computer? That might push some people to think Google really is evil.

[OldManDeath]

Sometimes I feel that way, so I am just careful about what I use the online services for. I don't trust any one company to store all of my information, and I wonder how people would take it if Google released a file storage service that could backup your entire computer? That might push some people to think Google really is evil.

Hmmmm, but you trust one company to store all the information here...Hmmmmm.

[curtissthompson]

From what I have seen, Web 2 is mostly about Web Apps. Personally I really don't want to put my personal data on some web site. To do so is just crazy.

Call me paranoid but companies like Google already have you, if you use half their services. Its just too much!

Just my opinion.

I absolutely agree, I'm very conservative when it comes to technological progression.  Too often in society, especially with regards to technology, we tend not to look before we leap, and don't think of the (long term) consequences of our decisions.  That being said I do have semi-personal information on the web, but I do my best to control the privacy of that information.  It also should be noted that Web 2.0 isn't the first instance of such privacy concerns, companies have for a long time held customer's personal/private information.  Web 2.0 merely is making it easier for other Internet users to access such information if you don't take certain measures of protection.

Here's how Wikipedia defines it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2

"Web 2.0 is a term describing the trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users."

Long before it was defined, I considered this Web 2.0 movement summated in one word/phrase to be about (social) interaction.  The transition from Web 1.0 with very static webpages, to webpages becoming more dynamic and centered around social interaction and collaboration.

[Ryan Wagner]

I haven't become real keen on the social aspect of the web yet. I refuse to create a MySpace page, and I hardly ever use Facebook. I dunno, I guess there are just things that I find more enjoyable to do with my time.