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Why is now the time for Web 2.0?

This question has been baffling me, ever since I figured out what Web 2.0 actually IS. Web 2.0 is basically anything interactive on the Internet. So technically Web 2.0 has been happening for at least 6 years, but the label "Web 2.0" is relatively new because corporations are only now becoming aware that the Internet is capable of being more than just a branding platform.

Here are some basic things I've figured out about Web 2.0 (ignore this post if you are already 2.0 savvy!):

Definition of a Web 2.0 application: a website that has "something to do with consumers, multimedia data types, social networking, RSS, AJAX drag and drop, some Flash, mashups, attitude and fuzzy business models." (source) Ok, that is pretty vague, with a heavy emphasis flashiness, but I've come to the conclusion that that is exactly the point of Web 2.0. Lots and lots of bloggers have done a great job of defining it, but this happens to be the definition that makes the most sense to me.

Examples of Web 2.0: it is almost easier to define what is through examples, many of which you are probably already aware. MySpace , YouTube, Podomatic, Flickr, Facebook, Google APIs, Yahoo 360, Imeem, Vox, Live, MSN Spaces, Dabble, Xanga, TagWorld , LinkedIn, Digg

The most interesting aspect of Web 2.0: I believe the most powerful and compelling aspect is what is being called the "architecture of participation." (Wikipedia not only is an example of this, but also has a definition of the phrase. :) When users provide the data that drives the applications, the applications become more intelligent, more compelling, and frankly, more exciting to use. One of the earliest examples of this type of collective intelligence is collaborative filtering. (That I was working with collaborative filtering researchers in 1999 is part of why I've been so confused about what the big deal is now.)

And finally, why NOW? I believe the reason the time is right for corporations to embrace this is that traditional software has failed to meet the needs of corporations. Companies doing work in this digital age need tools that are fast and flexible and do not force users to conform to pre-defined behaviors. Groupware became a dirty word in the collaboration software space because traditional groupware tools of the 80's and 90's limited and constrained the behavior of users. And in real life, groups (aka businesses) can't waste time accommodating to rigid software. Hence, Web 2.0 steps in with simple (in a lot of cases, VERY SIMPLE) tools like wikis and blogs, and workers everywhere embrace them because they can be appropriated to their needs, something the corporate-provided groupware tools cannot do.

HBS faculty member Andrew McAfee explains "why now" in more detail in his blog entry The Trends Underlying Enterprise 2.0. It boils down to 1) simple and free to use (thank you advertising business model!), 2) emergent structures (no pre-set taxonomies), and 3) the chaos of individual participators resulting in a new order (possible with the likes of tagging and RSS).

Posted by Joan Dimicco in "User Experience"  |