Sometime after 2001, a strange phrase kept popping up in the internet marketing world, Web 2.0. The exact meaning of this phrase was unknown, and a search revealed a thousand different ideas, but businesses and marketing firms kept using it despite the ambiguity. So what is Web 2.0, and why is it such a prevalent buzzword in the internet community?  What does Web 2.0 really mean, and what could make it so important?

          To put it simply Web 2.0 is a concept, nothing more nothing less. It’s imaginary, and intangible, yet it’s a driving force of internet marketing today. Essentially the concept of Web 2.0 is that of a classification system. It helps to separate the old internet from the new emerging internet. It is, in a sense, a way to determine what is out and what is in when it comes to internet marketing. Still confused? Let’s take a closer look.

          A few years back there were certain references one could make and be completely understood by anyone who used the internet on a regular basis. Certain websites and applications were the norm, and used by millions of people all over the world. Web 2.0 is a redefinition of these references, a revamping of the internet as we knew it just a few years ago. In a way it is a replacement of old concepts with new emerging ones. To be considered part of Web 2.0 there needs to be a sense that you are a new idea, a replacement of an old one.

          Let us take a look at some examples to really understand what this means. A few years back, in the land of what is now considered Web 1.0, the prime photo sharing application was Ofoto. It was hard to mention Ofoto without knowing exactly what it entailed. Now, Flickr has taken the dominate spot when it comes to photo sharing, and Ofoto has essentially fallen off the map. It is this restructuring that defines what is at the core of Web 2.0. It is the replacement of mp3.com with Napster…of Akamai with BitTorrent, it is the new internet.

          So now that we have a general understanding of what Web 2.0 entails we need to know why it’s so important.  To be defined within the Web 2.0 meme, a company must take an old concept of the internet and in a sense take it further.  Being defined as a company that falls into the criteria of Web 2.0 is a way of saying that your internet company and application is innovative, and breaks away from the internet as we formerly knew it. Your company or program offers internet consumers the same product, with more features or perhaps in a different, more manageable way. When companies claim they are part of the Web 2.0 revolution or the Web 2.0 meme, they are saying essentially they are moving forward, they are making progress. With the constant flux of the internet it won’t be long before the new buzzword in internet marketing is Web 3.0, Web 4.0, or Web X. The entire concept of Web 2.0 is essentially about progress.