• Web 2.0: definitely a buzzword, but it’s still a useful term
• Good for non-techies? Mmm. Not sure about that…
• Ajax – the coining of the term helped to speed its adoption
• “Web 2.0 isn’t a thing; it’s a state of mind”

Features of Web 2.0*
* Open data formats (e.g. RSS)
* No data lock-in or walled gardens
* User-created data

Architecture of Participation – buzzword alert!
* Provide a service, not a product
* Collective intelligence (PageRank, folksonomies, popularity)
* Re-use and re-mix
* Customer self-service
* Community & sense of ownership

Rich user experience
* Easy, pleasurable to use
* More like desktop app
* Device independence & cross-platform (my add)

Cool Web 2.0 apps
* OnOneMap
* Netvibes.com
* Backpack
* Meebo.com – web-based IM
* Writely – Online word processing

Core tech
* Open data – APIs & services

But…”where’s the revolution”
* We’ve been here before / “we can already do all that”
* Industrial Revolution – steam engine was a 1st century Greek toy, but was only used “in anger” in 18th C. UK.
* Use existing tech in new & interesting ways
* Renewed energy on the web – it’s fun to be a web developer right now

Warning Alert Achtung!!
* Mistakes of 2000 being made again
* Standards, usabilty, accessibility being thrown out for whizzy UIs
* Solutions looking for a problem
* Business models!
* Just another bubble? Andy thinks not; time will tell. People are prepared to pay for good-quality services
* “Forget the hype and build cool stuff”

The Web: from document delivery system to application platform
* Subs vs one-off payment

What next?
* Ajax
* Widgets (Dashboard, Konfabulator)
* Flex
* OpenLazlo
* XUL apps
* Smart clients / Avalon – goal of MS is to liberate web apps from the browser

Audience questions
* Where do Microformats fit in? They’re hacking XHTML to fulfil a need, because XHTML development has stalled somewhat
* How do I convince the client/boss? Just do it – build the best app you can. Show people the cool stuff – show, not tell
* Your data is stored on someone else’s servers – how do you feel about that? It’s a trust issue. Instill trust by show contact details; don’t put critical data into a company that’s only been around a couple of months.
* Should Ajax apps degrade gracefully? Absolutely – build a working app without scripting, then layer it on top. Same with CSS - should be an addition, not a requirement.
* From a manager’s perspective: the extra cost involved in (say) Ajax aren’t as easy to sell to clients as valid XHTML/CSS etc. It’s a bit unquantifiable, but the benefits to user experience are there.

I’m at Fabrica in Brighton for d.Construct 2005, the UK’s first grassroots Web 2.0 conference. I’ll try to sort the buzz from the hype, and the meat from the fluff (or something).

Rich Rutter is doing the intro. Andy Budd’s up first, with “What is Web 2.0″.

I signed up for Flock’s newsletter, and last night received an invitation to download the developer preview version of their “social browser”. “What’s a social browser?” I hear you cry. Well, as far as I can tell, it’s a version of Mozilla that includes a blog-posting tool, Del.icio.us social bookmark integration, and Flickr photo integration.

It seems to work. The Del.icio.us bookmark browser is nice, and I’m writing this post from the blog tool. The appearance is funkier than Firefox, too.

I’m not really sure how they’re going to make money, though. Advertising? Paid-for downloads? It’s all good Web 2.0 stuff (APIs, read/write etc etc) but, if they’re pitching as something more than a fork of the open-source Mozilla project, then the future looks a little unclear.