The Treadmill To The Future.

Oh Internet, what will you do next? You have to admit that there's a change happening in websites these days, whether you believe in web 2.0 or not. And meanwhile I have to admit I'm warming a bit to the term itself. But there's quite a debate in trying to describe what it is (if anything). I'd like to venture a supposition that it depends on who you are and what you expect, which dictates what qualifies or doesn't. Since I have no interest in developing or capitalizing from this 'revolution' my concepts may be very different from an investor looking for the next money train. So here's a hybrid summary of 10 common attempts to constrain this ethereal (pun alert) concept.

• 10 definitions of Web 2.0 and their shortcomings at twopointouch: web 2.0, blogs and social media

I'm a hearty subscriber to the "marketing buzzword" camp. But there must be something else to it since its so easy to feel the presence (truthiness?) of web 2.0. Its like pron in that sense, "I know it when I see it." But there must be a way to say it. I think of it as new and exciting, but also a certain look and feel that couples with functionality. I also like to think that there won't necessarily be a web 3.0.

I you've ever worked with Artificial Intelligence, you know that the definition of what qualifies as AI is continually changing. A computer that will beat a chess master is no longer an acceptable test case. So maybe its like AI in that the definition changes as time and technology progress. Something that was 2.0 four months ago, is not now because there are a new set of exciting sites and services that are. We could just mean the slick bleeding edge of the web. So rather than a Road Ahead, its more like a treadmill and staying where you are is moving forward. Alright... that joke was ridiculous.

There is definitely something to the concept that there isn't a strict dividing line between 1.0 and 2.0, but a spectrum as to the "oh-ness" of a site. Daily Placebo, for instance, is currently at about a web 1.6 level. What with our swanky new banner, CSS, collapsing comments, DPmail, blogsearch, wiki, and shameless self promotion. Granted there's not very much user content control, but I'm pretty sure you guys are illiterate anyway.