Among the Internet community, the term “Web 2.0” has become a common buzzword. Often used in conversations by those who believe they know what the term means, while the unknowing ignorantly nod their heads pretending to be knowledgeable.

The real question is; do people truly have an understanding of the meaning of Web 2.0? With all the technical jargon that circulates among Internet savvy cliques, if asked to define the term, would any of them be able to? Some may say that it is referring to a new generation of designing style. Others may believe that it is a new level of interactivity, a kind of advanced coding structure, or even customer experience. The truth is Web 2.0 is a combination of all of these ideas.

The Birth of Web 2.0

In order to gain full knowledge of what Web 2.0 is, it helps to understand how the concept originated.  The demise of dot-com in 2001 was a major turning point for the web. During a conference, Tim O’Reilly and MediaLive International both came to an agreement that with all the new applications and explosion of new sites, the web was more important than ever. The collapse of the dot-com seemed to have marked the turning point for the web and as a result, the Web 2.0 Conference was formed.

Based on a simple idea, which soon ignited into a movement, the conference was designed to help restore confidence back into an industry that had lost all faith after the fall. After careful examination of the companies that survived the dot-com bust, the information discovered was quite interesting. They found that the building of applications improved the more people used them. From Google to ebay, to craigslist the value was assisted by the software, but was also co-created by and for the community of linked users. Other platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have demonstrated the same idea, but in other innovative ways. The main concept of Web 2.0… To merge business and customer with tools such as blogs, RSS feeds, and social networks.

Web 2.0 and the Collective Intelligence

Web 2.0 was designed to harness the collective intelligence. But, what does that mean? Collective intelligence applications rely on several factors: managing, understanding, and responding to substantial amounts of user-generated data in real time. These subsystems are of the emerging Internet systems are increasing data subsystems such as identity and location.

The collapsing of the dot-com survivors, have embraced the power of the web and are turning the concept of collective intelligence into a reality. Some examples are:

• Dynamic Pages
• Website Interactivity
• Blogs
• Social Media
• Wikis
• Video Distribution

Ideas Built to Last

Many thought that the Internet would not last, but it has now become a pivotal necessity for business and personal use. Web 2.0 has ignited the World Wide Web into a new dimension of information and data, that when captured and processed intelligently, offers insurmountable opportunities and implications.

Casey Mauldin
CEO