Riding the Waves of Web 2.0

Short Description
“Web 2.0″ has become a catch-all buzzword that people use to describe a wide range of … Internet2: 2) Web 2.0 is not a new and improved internet network …

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Backgrounder
Riding the Waves of “Web 2.0″
More than a buzzword, but still not easily defined
By Mary Madden and Susannah Fox
Pew Internet Project
October 5, 2006
“Web 2.0″ has become a catch-all buzzword that people use to describe a wide range of online
activities and applications, some of which the Pew Internet & American Life Project has been
tracking for years. As researchers, we instinctively reach for our spreadsheets to see if there is
evidence to inform the hype about any online trend. What follows is a short history of the phrase,
along with some data to help frame the discussion.
Let’s get a few things clear right off the bat: 1) Web 2.0 does not have anything to do with
Internet2: 2) Web 2.0 is not a new and improved internet network operating on a separate
backbone: and 3) It is OK if you’ve heard the term and nodded in recognition, without having the
faintest idea of what it really means.
When the term emerged in 2004 (coined by Dale Dougherty and popularized by O’Reilly Media
and MediaLive International),1 it provided a useful, if imperfect, conceptual umbrella under which
analysts, marketers…