Sameer Agarwal

As if adding on to my earlier posts on this topic, this article on ReadWriteWeb by Josh Catone argues that Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 are terms with no specific definition, and it really is just THE web!

I’ve been sort of annoyed at the hype around Web 2.0. What is so different about Web 2.0? Was there a Web 1.0? Heck, what is the definition, or scope of Web 2.0?! Did collabaoration not exist before Web 2.0 (the term was coined around 2004)? Did JavaScript not exist before Web 2.0? Did CSS and SQL queries and iframes not exist before? Of course AJAX got coined and JavaScript/CSS/SQL sounded so much like an outdated thing – but come to think of it, have any fundamentals changed? Has the value proposition changed? In fact, I don’t even know if e-commerce is still e-commerce or if its now called Web 3.0 (since Web 2.0 is for collaboration and social networking!)

But the fact of the matter is that everyone seems to be selling Web 2.0 these days. Probably I’m doing so too by mentioning Web 2.0 probably the zillionth time in this post making it more likely for search and RSS crawlers to index my post! Most large enterprises today have a Web 2.0 strategy. Seminars and conferences and unconferences and BarCamps are organized on Web 2.0. So what if they end up talking about the same old things, but the fact of the matter is that the audience is listening. Probably its the fascination with acronyms, or maybe 2.0 sounds new-age. Whatever it is, good for the Internet, oops Web 2.0 industry!

It’s heartening to see the internet hype coming a full circle – from the dotcom days (or the bust!) to Web 2.0. There is renewed interest and hype about internet startups. Check out http://www.startupdunia.com/ to get a feeler!

What differentiates the Web 2.0 era from the dot-com days is probably the more conscious congnizance of revenue streams. Or so they say! I hope I do not get sued for libel, but I still fail to see the business model of many of these ‘social networking’ sites that are mushrooming. We had an Orkut and a Facebook and a MySpace and then our desi iBibo came and I’m sure a dozen others already exist, and a zillion more will follow! Is there space for so many of them? Maybe I’m a ‘balti’ (iBibo campaign – “Don’t be a balti” – closely means that don’t be dumb) but how are these social networking sites going to differentiate themselves, how will they manage loyalty and most importantly how will they make money?

To my mind, Web 2.0 has become a fancy term and everybody wants a piece of it. Just like the dot-com days. I think they are still not paying as much attention as they should to the revenue model.

Of course there are some exceptions. One such site I came across is CommonFloor. Think of it as a custom Yahoo/Google group for an apartment society. It is a web-based society management software if you will. It provides several features like posting notices, secure member directory, interest groups (could be to create a car pool or find a golf partner or whatever!), classifieds, event management (this one is impressive with its Outlook styled calendards) and more! Good luck to the guys who are promoting this initiative.