Apperceive

A number of my friends have encouraged me to post something regarding what I have observed about the meaning of the "2.0" in "web 2.0"

There are lots of articles on the web about "what is web 2.0" and how it differs from web 1.0 (or 1.5, etc.). From my experience, it is simply this:

Web 2.0 applications generally cost at least twice as much as web 1.0 applications.

Why? Simply because most web 1.0 applications required a degree of system administration, while web 2.0 applications also require community administration. Building, deploying and administering an application is not enough to ensure it's success these days...

In terms of people, you now need both someone to administer the application and someone to manage the community aspects of the site. Social networking sites often require significant investment in time and effort by community reps. Simply answering support questions, posting and replying to comments and forums (both on and off-site) takes time. Being a contributing member of a community takes time and the application provider's community manager is the most likely to set the standard and continually raise the bar.

Budget for this.

I shudder to think what Web 3.0 will bring ;)