Any advance on Web 1.0?

August 29, 2006 at 5:07 pm Leave a comment

SiliconValleyWatcher’s Tom Foremski today poured a whole load of cold water on the Web 2.0 phenomenon. Following the San Francisco Chronicle’s pick of “Cool Web 2.0 Sites” yesterday, Tom described the offerings as mere variants on the “Swiss-army-knife-of-collaborative/social-media-technologies.” Among the reasons for his scorn: any of the technologies could be reverse engineered by Google, Yahoo! or Microsoft in a heartbeat; there are way too many companies trying to do the same thing; and “communities are not created by press release.” Bravo!

Tom calls the trend more 1.5 than 2.0. That’s quite generous, considering Tim Berners-Lee reckons we’re still on Web 1.0.

Who am I to disagree with the father of the Web? I posted my concerns the other day that me-too enthusiasm is pushing us towards another bubble – and, of course, its inevitable burst. Social media technology is great, but it’s not a reinvention of the Web, nor is it enough to sustain another boom.

Technorati Tags: Web 2.0, social media, Tim Berners-Lee