Web Two Point Oh No You Didn’t!
By Larry Bailin, Single Throw CEO

Do you know what all the web 2.0 hubbub is about? If you said no, then you’re not alone. Most businesses have no clue what web 2.0 is, neither do marketers for that matter. Seventy nine percent of marketers are not familiar with web 2.0 and out of the ones that are, only 33% use web 2.0 strategies.
 
Web 2.0 is fast becoming the most over used and misused term on the web. I’ve heard web 2.0 described as an evolution, design style, or an application. I’ve even read an article calling it a revolution. A revolution!? Are we all going to be throwing our laptops into the Boston Harbor?

Let’s see if we can set the record straight. Web 2.0 is a "marketing term." It does not signify a second coming of the web. If anything, the web is in its fourth or fifth coming. We started with basic communication when the Internet was the ARPANET (web 1.0). Then we went to chatting and bulletin board type communication prior to the first web browser (web 2.0). In 1995, Netscape went public and the web became mainstream as people began building both personal and commercial websites (web 3.0). Shortly thereafter in 1997, Amazon went public and kicked off "e-commerce" (web 4.0). So today we are easily looking at web 5.0.

No matter what iteration we are entering into the fact remains that web 2.0 is a dominant phrase that marketers, web developers, businesses, and connected customers are using and misusing. Let’s run down some of the medium that is being dubbed web 2.0 and get to the bottom of this once and for all.

User generated content is often said to be a web 2.0 staple, however, sites like Amazon and eBay have been using content generated by its users for years. eBay feedback and Amazon customer reviews are and have been critical elements for both sites almost since their inception. Nothing new here.

BLOGs are considered web 2.0 because they are timely and utilize user generated content. BLOGs have also been around for many years as “web-logs” but only recently have they reached mainstream acceptance. Again, nothing new here either.

Podcasts are audio and video files on the web – next!

Wiki is a website that allows content collaboration through a web browser to anyone that has been granted access to it. The best known wiki is Wikipedia. The first wiki was created in 1995! On with the run down.

Widgets are one of my favorite so called “web 2.0 applications” that businesses are rushing to create so they can be seen as “cutting edge”. A widget is an interactive tool that you download and it sits on your desktop (or a website) feeding you up to the minute information about practically anything you want. These widgets gather information from the Internet and display this info to you without you having to go and get it

Widgets are cool little gizmos however they are not widely used as intended and they are far from new. Apple has been using them in their operating systems for years and Microsoft integrated them with the web using “active desktop” featured in the release of their Internet Explorer 4 web browser.

The reason widgets have not been widely accepted by users on their desktops is that PC stands for “personal computer.” People put pictures of their family, pets, cars, boats, or just about anything else they want to stare at day in and day out. Widgets cover that coveted space, which is why we all don’t have tons of little gizmos on our desktop.

Web 2.0 design is among my favorite of the misused terms out there. There are designers, agencies, and web developers that are touting the fact that they will design using web 2.0 elements such as glass buttons, rounded corners and reflections. Web 2.0 is not a design style. I’ll say this again. Web 2.0 is not a design style. Rounded corners and reflections have been used by Apple for years. I personally like the look, however, it’s soooo 15 minutes ago. Everyone is using this style and now it has lost its appeal. Design and marketing companies are telling clients to do this to be different but they just end up being different like everyone else.

Dynamic websites are starting to pop up all over the place. Sites using programming languages like AJAX to allow a website user to move components around, integrate feeds, and manipulate content are becoming commonplace. Sites like iGoogle, which allow a user to create a page that they want by integrating anything they want wherever they want, seem to be appealing the web 2.0 programmers out there. Whether a site needs to have a level of customization or not it is being built in because everyone wants to develop in a web 2.0 manner. Again, nothing new here. I think Burger King invented the “have it your way” thing.

Sometimes you can give people too many choices and it ends up having a negative outcome.g said; web 2.0 is more of a movement than anything else. Think of web 2.0 as a mindset that will lead to a more fluid interaction between websites and connected customers. Web 2.0 is more of a way of thinking than a technological advance. Building things from the bottom up as opposed to the top down to give customers what they want and need is what web 2.0 is all about.

When web 2.0 is positioned as a mindset toWhen web 2.0 is positioned as a mindset to enhance customer interaction and satisfaction I’m all for it. Unfortunately the only thing I could find that was new about web 2.0 was that businesses and marketers now think about the customers needs first.