The State of Web 2.0 (web2.wsj2.com)

the key ingredient, is that it describes the inversion of control of information, processes, and software wholesale over to the users of the Web.  This is because users now generate the majority of content these days and they also provide the attention that drives almost everything online  financially (particularly advertising). And all of us have a uniquely equal access to the global audience of the Web; each and every one of us now has our own world-class pulpit (in the forms of blogs, wikis, and other mechanisms) that is amazingly the equal of any other person on the Web. Web 2.0 has also been successful in spawning almost ten related sub-movements that range from Identity 2.0 to Democracy 2.0.

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harnessing collective intelligence

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it does seem the social aspect of Web 2.0 is the the biggest roadblock for acceptance with technical people in the software industry. 

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Web 2.0 is not a technology, it's a way of architecting software and businesses. 

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The disconnect between the technicians and the architects and CTOs  seems to come particularly from the social aspect of Web 2.0.

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Web 2.0 is really a set of related forces, design patterns, and business models that are increasingly emerging onto the world stage.

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the shortest definition that works for me is that "Web 2.0 is made of people

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- The Web and all its connected devices as one global platform of reusable services and data
- Data consumption and remixing from all sources, particularly user generated data
- Continuous and seamless update of software and data, often very rapidly
- Rich and interactive user interfaces
- Architecture of participation that encourages user contribution

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importance of user ownership of data.  The centrality of the user as both a source of mass attention (over a hundred million people, probably 2 or 3 times that many, are online right now) and an irreplaceable source of highly valuable data, generally encourages that the user be handed control of the data they generate.  If control over their own attention data is denied them, they will just go to those who will give them that control.  This gives some insight into the implications of Web 2.0 concepts, which were mostly gathered by examining prevailing trends on the Web.  Forrester is calling the resulting fall out of these changes Social Computing and it'll be interesting to see what the effects of the widepsread  democratization of content and control will ultimately be a generation from now

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People are very tired of synchronizing their data between work, home, and family computers, upgrading and patching their software, and worrying about security and backups.  Ajax has been a force here (covered here in my popular State of Ajax) by allowing the creation of online software that is as good as native software (yes, a few limitations still exist, but can increasingly be worked around).  Ajax is much more powerful because its connected status: it can reach people and information around the world. 

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An Increasing Attention Scarcity:  There isn't enough atttention, or users that supply it, to go around.  Particuarly there's just too many channels vying for it or existing channels are still dominate the majority of attention.  This will affect the viability of new online entries and force them to create innovative ways to acquire attention.
- Online Social Communities Are A Winning Model - It's unclear what the monetization is (other than advertising) or the cost of successfully starting one, but many of the fastest growing and most popular places heavily use social software techniques to draw and keep users.  And some begunnung are to acquire valuations in the billions.  (Some Examples: SecondLife, MySpace, FaceBook.).
- The RIA Model Works - The term Ajax was just coined in February of last year, but it looks like it's here to stay and then some.  Using nothing more than what you find in the browser, Ajax can create great Web platform ready clients that are as good as native clients.  To see the potential, check out the radically advanced Hive7 using nothing more than Javascript.  Expect that XUL, WPF/E, and Flash will give Ajax a bit of a run for its money later this year though.
- The Mashup Phenomenon Will Mature or Wane - Part of the problem appears to be the tools but also the usefulness.  Most mashups aren't more than a feature or two.  More sophisticated ones are coming, but if compelling mashups don't materialize in bigger numbers,  the technique could lose mindshare as a model for building composite online software made up from the services of multiple Web sites.
- Traditional Software Vendors Will Struggle in a Web 2.0 World - Microsoft and Google will likely figure it out, though it's not a sure thing either..  Microsoft has serious product line baggage and Google has healthy challenges in managing its growth and maintaining a sharp focus on strategy.  Google's latest products don't seem to have their famous edge, for example.  The smaller, nimbler Web 2.0 startups might continue to be a great source of innovation but it might make sense for Google to acquire startups and  immedatiely spin it off to avoid the "big company effect."

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These desktops are attempting to leverage people's scarce attention by providing a single collapsed view of everything they care about from bookmarks and feeds, to e-mail, and weather. 

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m media coming-out party in both Newsweek and Slate recently (here and here), I thought I'd take some time this afternoon and try to get a real sense of the prevailing winds.   Before I go further, I would ask all of you with innate dislike of the term to please hold it in for the length of this piece and actually read it.  And everyone, please share your thoughts in the comments below.  Also note that this is my personal assessment of Web 2.0 and is not official in any way.  Please take everything I say here

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