What Is Web 2.0?

I had the same question when I first heard the term. To simplify things, Web 2.0 is what people consider "the second generation of services available on the World Wide Web that lets people collaborate and share information online." Ok, I took those exact words from Wikipedia, which is a good example of this new Web 2.0 era. In the past we had encyclopedias; these days we also have wikis or wikipedias, which are updated more frequently.

O'Reilly has a much more extensive review on the matter, and it is an excellent resource because the group pretty much coined the term during a brainstorming session. Unfortunately, O'Reilly Media is also in the process of registering the term Web 2.0 as a service mark, so it can continue to use this term for its annual conference. I'm sure this will cause a lot of confusion for everyone in the future if we choose to adopt this name; then again, we may already be too late.

Aside from being a buzzword, Web 2.0 also refers to this exciting exchange of ideas where everyone plays a part. Whether they choose to do it via social networking sites like MySpace, blogs, video/audio podcasts, social bookmarking, photo communities, and wikis, to name a few, users are encouraged to create, contribute, or participate in these online communities. With all these applications comes a new language we must learn and a new way of designing web sites.

Just take a look around the web, and you will notice a lot of great companies out there that offer easy ways to share video and bookmarks, create personal or business blogs, or even make phone calls over the Internet. You'll recognize Web 2.0 web sites by their tag clouds, rounded corners, gradients, and short punchy names with elements of English words—well, at least that's what Reddit's how-to-video says.

While many have a problem with the label of this new phase, there is no denying that the web has certainly changed in the last few years and will continue to do so. Believe it or not, the term Web 3.0 is already out there. Since I couldn't possibly explain Web 2.0 as a whole in this post, I will leave you with a few great links to help you learn more about it or just have fun with it.

• TechCrunch reviews new Web 2.0 products
• Intro to Web 2.0
• Buzzword Hell attempts to kill the buzzwords
• The Social Software Weblog
• Edugadget: Web 2.0 for teachers
• Test your 2.0 knowledge
• What Is Web 2.0 and Should You Care?
• ZDNet on Web 2.0
• Wired News: Are You Ready for Web 2.0?
• Web 2.0 Awards

So what does Web 2.0 mean to you?