What is Web 2.0...where does blogging fit in?

Recently, I was asked just what exactly is Web 2.0? Well, this is the shape of today’s web. The next generation, really.

Web 2.0 was first coined by O’Reilly Media, an American company.

The term is used to distinguish the web model today from the start of the web as we know it. For instance, Britannica Online was the encyclopedic source of Web 1.0, while in Web 2.0 it’s Wikipedia. Personal websites were the go in Web 1.0, and now it’s blogging.

The accent was on publishing previously, in Web 2.0 it is more on participation.

Hence, Web 2.0 refers to today’s more collaborative, friendly and interactive transformation of the more staid and static Web 1.0.

It is to take advantage of the current paradigm, that I have approached my clients to consider the use of blogging to get the message out there. Not just to let their customers get more information, but to get feedback on what they are thinking.

While 15 years ago, one had to consider if their firm needed a website, today this is a given. No one can do business without one.

So, in today’s Web 2.0 world, the question is “Do we need a blog?”.

What do you think?