Tuesday, December 20, 2005

The Internet vs. Web 2.0

We've all read all the hype around "Web 2.0." Personally I think it is a lot of wanker 2.0 hype, but hey, I'm editorializing here. (Sorry, I’m in PR so I’m immediately hostile to any pithy catch-phrase which I myself did not invent)

But love it or lump it, what is interesting is that Cisco and Web 2.0 pundits essentially focus on the same imperatives when it comes to computing. In both instances, Cisco and Web 2.0ers focus more on things like architectures, interactions, self-service and information convergence. Concepts that are relegated to the past are proprietary architectures, one-way communication, information hierarchy and centralized control.

The key difference between Cisco and the Web 2.0ers is where all of this resides. Cisco, obviously, is focused more on the Internet (i.e. the network) itself as the platform for this new wave of “Web 2.0” functionality.

Web 2.0ers look one layer higher to the web itself, and the find that the web applications themselves-- from Google to blogs to web services to wikis—in aggregate constitute the real Web 2.0 platform.

So who’s right? Actually I think that the more interesting question is who is wrong! Not between Cisco and Web 2.0ers, we agree on essentially the same thing, we just differ on what is really fuelling the change. But the real interesting questions is who is left out of this entire Internet/Web-as-the-platform debate altogether.

Interesting articles on Web 2.0

What Is Web 2.0

The Best Web 2.0 Software of 2005

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