WebTwoPointOh

Web 2.0

Aka: Please help us sustain a community by providing all our content for us!

A term, apparently coined by TimOreilly of OreillyAndAssociates, denoting the new "editable" web that came with the popularity of blogs, wikis, and WikiPedia. In other words, the latest craze among wide-eyed WorldWideWeb enthusiasts, and a BuzzwordBingo candidate that has something to do with AjaxWebApplications like GoogleMaps, "collaborative taxonomy" and things like that.

• "What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software" by TimOreilly: http://www.oreillynet.com/lpt/a/6228

• PaulGraham is not convinced: http://paulgraham.com/web20.html. However, he does suggest that it could encompass 3 ideas:
  • Ajax (better GUIs)
  • Democracy (more grass-roots content)
  • Not dissing users (don't make users jump through unnecessary hoops)

• "Web 2.0 - Synergistic Folksonomy And You": http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=3594

The most striking accusation against the new paradigm is that it encourages TheCultOfTheAmateur.

In the commercial software world, it is suggested to avoid X.0 versions, and wait for X.1. Let somebody else take the arrows in the back (AmericanCulturalAssumption regarding pioneers and risk).

In the OpenSource software world, it's the X.2, X.4, X.6, X.8 (the even, but maybe not X.0) versions that are most suitable for the public.

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From the WebPagesThatSuck site in 2006:

So you wanna be a rock 'n' roll star? You gotta look like a Web 2.0 web site.

The hot web design style right now is the Web 2.0 aesthetic. What is this aesthetic? Just look at any Web 2.0 site on this list [http://www.sacredcowdung.com/archives/2006/03/all_things_web.html] and you'll see lots of white space, big type, bright colors, and rounded logos. Here's a good explanation of all the required elements of a Web 2.0 web site [http://mittermayr.wordpress.com/2006/02/03/20-culture/].

To come up with a name, go to, what else, the web 2.0 name generator [http://www.joeyschoblaska.com/web20/index.php] (BrokenLink 2007-09-30). You can create an interesting and quasi-Web 2.0 site at Web20generator [http://www.web20generator.com/] that uses CSS and XHTML (requirements for a Web 2.0 site).

But what's really important is the logo. FontShop has an explanation of what goes into having a Web 2.0 logo [http://www.fontshop.com/fontfeed/archives/web-20-logos.cfm] (with plenty of examples).

Hey, now your site can look like all the hip sites?

I found the web 2.0 name generator hilarious. -- ElizabethWiethoff

Don't forget also the Web 2.0 Validator: http://web2.0validator.com/ (How's that for abusing DNS?) Check if your website is sufficiently WebTwoPointOh by seeing if it has been tagged with certain keywords on DelIcioUs.

Try bullsh*tr, the Web 2.0 Bullsh*t Generator and its recommended links: http://emptybottle.org/bullshit/

Sick of Web 2.0? Spooked by it? Enjoy http://www.uncov.com/ - uncovering web2.

Internet is like, bogus, man.

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See also WebThreePointZero, AssertTwoPointOh

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CategoryWebDesign