Thursday, March 30, 2006

Web 2.0 is [pick one]

Slate writer Paul Boutin hones in on the semantic ambiguity of the term Web 2.0 (well, is it semantic or literal ambiguity?) in a short piece, reflecting the "checkout stand placement" Web 2.0 has acquired with the Newsweek April 3 cover story. He identifies three--maybe four--definitions that may be or may not be compatible. "...people use Web 2.0 to mean different, often conflicting things."
1. Web 2.0 is a mishmash of tools and sites that foster collaboration and participation.
2. Web 2.0 is the software and languages used to build the gee-whiz features of sites like YouTube, Flikr and Wikipedia.
3. A "Web 2.0 play" is a bid to make money by funding a bring-your-own-content site.
4. Publicists and self-promoters invoke Web 2.0 whenever they want to tag something as new, cool, and undiscovered.

Image from gapingvoid.com (warning: Hugh uses swear words in many of his cartoons, so maybe don't look at his blog in a public place)

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