Tim O’Reilly regards Web 2.0 as business embracing the web as a platform and using its strengths (global audiences, for example). (source Wikipedia).
I’ve typically considered Web 2.0 to be sites using technologies like AJAX and Flash to provide an enhanced user interface (think Google Maps), and/or involving community users are as a critical component of the site.
Lately though, it seems the trend is to make sites that provide a minimal value add on top of some one else’s data/service. The other trend is to not have a revenue plan. So many startup companies are operating on investor’s money with no real plan on making real money. They and their investors are hoping for an M&A event to make the gamble worthwhile. If they do manage to luck out and get bought by a bigger fish, often that bigger fish also lacks a concrete plan for generating real revenue.
This whole thing seems crazy to me.
It seems like a game of finding bigger and bigger suckers. I’m not saying you have to make money on everything you do. You can run a site for fun, or to enhance your brand, or whatever. But if you’re taking money from investors without any idea how you’re going to be able to pay them back, you’re just taking advantage of suckers with money. The whole thing seems dishonest to me.
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