Web 2.0 - Beyond the Hype

Web 2.0 - Beyond the Hype was the theme for a fascinating evening. In conversation were Lee Bryant of Headshift (a company that enables corporate change through web 2.0 applications), James Purbrick of Linden Labs (Chief Development Officer of Second Life), Richard Davis, CEO Vexed (web developers), Justin Rivington CEO of Rivers Run Red (social software developers), James Cooper (Spectrum Consulting) and thirty others.

Whereas most agreed that Web 2.0 applications provide tremendous opportunities, and are the logical evolution of web functionality - there were divergent opinions on the value of these tools within organisations, or the forms that they take. James Purbrick believes that new economies are forming, creating entirely new opportunities for value creation, and that the barriers to entry have been significantly eroded. Second Life is providing a virtual realm in which real people are making real money. The value for large organisations however is unclear, beyond the halo effect of having set up a stall within Second Life.

Lee Bryant takes a different view. His company believes that the social relations of production have been significantly altered by Web 1.0 and that Web 2.0 offers tools for communication, collaborative work and decision making which makes these changes explicit. The new economy is the knowledge based economy and it is challanging and redefining the traditional boundaries of organisation, private, public, commercial and government.

What became clear was the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Although a term invented by Tony O'Reilly it helps use to understand the direction the web is evolving. Whereas Web 1.0 was about constructing infrastructure and enabling vast numbers of people, businesses to interact and contract online (shopping), Web 2.0 is taking linking, communicating and playing together to another level. The barriers to entry for people to establish highly sophisticated organisations are continuing to fall. Web 2.0 is a neat term that helps us understand what the next wave of internet functionality will enable us to do together.