Social Dogwalking?
Before getting into this post, let me first note that I think Web 2.0 is quite interesting and that the communication and networking tools involved in the “movement” are of great value to job seekers, employers, recruiters, etc. That said, sometimes I think this Web 2.0 thing is going a bit too far – like people are seeing something really cool and really useful and then, even though it’s great, hyping it SO much that it actually becomes overrated despite its inherent excellence.
Yeah, I think Web 2.0 might be one of those things. I don’t think anyone states this position so eloquently or with so much force as the Skeptic over at Dead 2.0, who almost daily discusses this exact phenomenon of over-hyping. Yet he does it from a blog, suggesting that he thinks what is termed “Web 2.0″ is great too – merely overplayed and, perhaps misnamed.
Perhaps a better name for all things Web 2.0 (and related) is the answer. Many have compared the current Web 2.0 business boom to the original Internet boom/bust of the late 90s. Some have gone so far as to label that age of relative innocence, post hoc, Web 1.0. That’s a little silly, though I can see the draw. After all, we once made sure to have “.com” in the official name of our business back in 1998. No one is immune to silliness, it seems. Hell, sometimes I like to jump right on into to silliness and roll around a bit. But I like to claim that I knew that I was embracing the silliness before I actually did so, and that I was doing it “just for grins”.
If this Web 2.0 game is in “bubble” mode, as some say it is, what event will make the existence of this bubble clear to all? Probably when VCs start throwing too much money at it (they may have done so already). Perhaps when the domain wiki.com sells for $3 million? When people start creating sites about “social shopping” (too late)?
All I can say is I’m glad I’m not running a Web 2.0 business…oh, wait…uh, nevermind.
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