Ask YC: Is web 2.0 over?
So is it?
a) A big trend emerges, it's the cutting edge. All new. aka Web 2.0 three years ago. It brings about new philosophies, cost structures, ways to communicate,etc. An entire culture thrives around it, tons of money is poured in, and we find out what works via trial+error. b) This trend eventually normalizes and becomes "standard". Everything we learned via this trial and error, becomes part of all products. Social networking is becoming less and less a "site" as it is becoming an integrated feature of existing properties. It's also influencing the way startups are run and built. Think about it, the trends + technology in the past 3 years, have made it possible for things like YC to exist (OS software, low cost requirements, ease of distribution, distributed teams,etc.)
So in short, not it's not over, it's just becoming assimilated into everything.
Seriously, Web 1.0 isn't over. Step out of the reality distortion field. Nowbody outside of digg/reddit/news.y/oreilly knows what the heck the web really is let alone web 2.0. Just make good stuff. That never goes out of style...
There has been an error from which Windows could not recover. Windows will now restart your system. Cancel or allow?
Windows recovered from a serious error which requires updates to repair. Cancel or allow?
Windows is attempting to download valuable new updates from the Internet. Cancel or allow?
There has been an error from which Windows could not recover--
Windows has detected that your machine has been hurled from a 14th story window and will now report your malfeasance to Microsoft. Cancel or allow, bitch?
(Yeah, I made that ...)
Read about "Hype Cycles" if you are not already familiar with them: http://www.gartner.com/pages/story.php.id.8795.s.8.jsp
As i see it, the dot com bust (or web 1.0) was just the natural "trough of disillusionment" for the hype cycle of the Interweb.
Web 2.0 is just the "slope of enlightenment" for the aforementioned Interweb (now known as the Intertubes)
M.
I consider the most sophisticated apps today to be web 2.5 ("service web"): cross-site APIs/widgets and the resulting mashups.
And then web 2.0 ("social web") as single sites with readable/writeable content. Forums, social news, sharing sites.
Web 1.5 ("application web") as writeable sites. Webmail, instant messaging, site builders, search engines.
Web 1.0 ("document web") as single sites with solely readable content. Blogs, arcades, galleries, oldnews, papers, homepages.
When we integrate structured portable data, the social graph, cross-device interfaces, and decentralized identity, I think we'll have something to call web 3.0.
Web 2.0 is over when this bubble pops. Web 3.0 starts with the next bubble.
3.4alpha
You're a bit behind...
Web 3.0 might be the meshing of the interactiveness of Web 2.0 with premium content that goes beyond YouTube. Think Joost, only evolved beyond crap video.
Web 3.0 might be content designed and built for the web, as TV transitions into an internet appliance (through stuff like Apple TV) rather than a one-way entertainment destination.
And until we start to see this stuff in full swing, Web 2.0 can't be officially declared dead.