You may notice these phenomenons: We are talking lesser about “Web 2.0” and the keyword “Web 2.0” appears less frequently on Internet articles than before. Currently, an increasing number of corporations’ focus have been turned from “Web 2.0” to specific applications.
If you look at the Google Trend, this can tell you more. It has been proved that “Web 2.0” is less popular than before, and we can say that “Web 2.0” is being forgotten.
If you have a great Internet experience and vision, you may still remember a brainstorm was started by Tim O’Reilly in 2004. From then on, “Web 2.0” became more and more popular, and a lot of websites added “Web 2.0” functions and used the “Web 2.0” style, etc. Some of the “Web 2.0” websites achieved big success such as Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, etc.
That’s the simple history about “Web 2.0”, but why at present, the trend of people are interested in “Web 2.0” is heading south? Is it good or bad? Let’s analyze it together:
1. What is the true “Web 2.0”?
If you have read my post “Why I’m Against Web 2.0?”, you may know that I think Web 2.0 is something against the focus and the core of Internet. Modern Web 2.0 uses information that deals with people and that’s very unusual. Web 2.0 is about platforms, and these platforms should have different focus and core, but Web 2.0 didn’t. Therefore, Web 2.0 is not a version of Web, it is only a definition of a type of websites. This type is being forgotten is very normal, because the websites under this type can still alive.
2. “Web 2.0” is user-friendly, but not money-friendly.
Usually, Web 2.0 websites can give you very good user experience, Web 2.0 created a special style for modern websites, everything is very simple and easy to use. So we called this style “user-friendly”. Users would love Web 2.0 websites. But Web 2.0 is not money-friendly at all, because the biggest advantage of Web 2.0 websites is enjoyment, but Web 2.0 websites should be free for users. Therefore, it’s very hard to let user pay for feelings. The biggest advantage of Web 1.0 websites is giving information, then Web 1.0 websites can be Internet media for marketing. But it is very hard for Web 2.0 websites to find a good way to earn money, and it has been said that more than 80% of Web 2.0 websites have not earned any money.
3. Not clear purpose
I found that most of Web 2.0 websites do not have specific and clear purpose and they only describe some functions and features, or even open-platform. We can say that it is a type of freedom, but if an owner don’t have any target or plan, and give everything for the user to imagine or for the developer to discover, then what will happen? So the purpose should be very clear, so that it can have brighter future and help it to be a great marketplace.
It has been guessed that Web 2.0 will disappear in 2011 according to a post in TechCrunch. I am not sure about the specific time, but I believe that Web 2.0 will become a history of Internet soon.