Some of us know it only as a jargon that seems to be catching up to Internet users. Some of us may think it as yet another "IT" thing floating around. Some honest ones will admit to not having heard much.
But rejoice ... if you are reading this you are already part of Web 2.0 :-) So also when you login to Orkut or LinkedIN, search for that elusive bit of detail in Wikipedia or use the smart mobile application which shows the apartments for sale in your favourite city on Google Maps - complete with the driving directions to it. (Okay that last "Mashup" is yet to be created or atleast popularised). Or you might just want to twitter about what you have been up to recently ...
I will not go much into what Web 2.0 is or how to define it and stuff. Tim O'Reilly has already done a fantastic job of it years ago. But two main streams of thoughts come to mind:
- What sound business ideas exist to make money out of this? Or atleast to avoid the repeat of the dot com bubble burst? Interestingly I was reading a McKinsey Global Survey (June 2008) result on "Building the Web 2.0 Enterprise" and a key point made by the report is that "Satisfied respondents say that, in large measures, business units rather than IT departments are driving the selection of Web 2.0 Technologies" - where IT units take the lead, it is leading to more number of dis-satisfied users or even rejections of the technologies. (So its not an IT-thing after all).
- What new risks will present themselves to Internet users or IT users from Web 2.0 usage? Ofcourse the most obvious answer is related to compromise of personal information, privacy, "identity theft" etc. but whether Web 2.0 can be blamed for these risks is food for thought. Admittedly Web 2.0 makes it easier - perhaps even enticing - for people to offer their personal information for public consumption, but what does it say for the awareness level or discretion of users in the first place? We are sure to see some thoughts on this in coming days.
More than ever, the all-important question is "what do you think about it" ?
Have a good time
Best regards
Gotya
