Saturday July 1, 2006

This question came up around the office, and, since no one bothers to read anything I send out (O’Reilly’s original post? This pretty picture from Adaptive Path?), I felt compelled to come up with an answer on the spot…

First off, Web2.0 is NOT about AJAX or any specific technology, at least not directly. It’s about…

• Better interactive experiences. Google maps has been a success precisely because it works in a way that is more natural to people. Tagging? Much easier than classification (at least for filing things away). Inline editing—”you mean I can edit what I see!” The list goes on…

• The whole ‘social’ thing. I can easily share photos, bookmarks, ideas, and more with the world, or just my circle—and by the way, my circle just expanded to include people around the globe!

• Reusable content. On my time, on my terms. Yes, I’m referring to RSS, microformats, blogs, etc.

• Sharing code (and ideas). Why should we spend our time rebuilding what’s already built—let’s move onto the exciting stuff, the stuff that companies will never think of, get around to, or care to build. Let’s innovate! (Mashups and open APIs). And let’s work together.

• The “niche stiff” that no one would ever have the financial interest to pursue, through traditional channels anyway (Yes, I’m referring to the ‘Long Tail’).

Hmm. Let’s look at this another way:

• Applications that are easier to use

• Tools that foster collaboration and knowledge sharing

• Empowering people to be more effective at what they’re doing

• Reducing development time

• Freeing up developers to invest in technologies that differentiate and create value

• Communicating in a trustworthy way with your customers

• Creating new markets

• Co-creating value with your customers

What does any of this have to do with the Enterprise? ;-)

Yes, Web 2.0 it is a buzzword. No, it isn’t a ‘new’ thing, necessarily.

There. I wrote an entry about Web2.0. But seriously, there are better posts on this topic.