Web 2.0 is a term used quite frequently today. The fact that you’ve picked up this book indicates that you have probably heard it used. In fact, at the time this introduction was written, a search on Google for “Web 2.0” would return 14.7 million results. On Live Search the number of results was 56 million. If you don’t put quotes around the phrase, then you’ll get even more results—73.8 million results on Google and 243 million results on Live Search.

With so many search results on the phrase, it should be no surprise that if you ask 10 people what Web 2.0 is, you are likely to get 11 different answers. The inspiration for this book centers, however, on these responses. When you add numbers after a name, it often implies a version. Is Web 2.0 a second version of the Web? Was there a Web 1.0? Is Web 3.0 the next version of the Web? With so many people having ideas about what Web 2.0 is or isn’t, how is a person to actually get a solid understanding of what is an important topic to understand for web developers and web site owners? Is the term just hype? Does it have real meaning? There are those in the industry who have tried to define what Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 are. Others in the industry say the term is not definable.

Is it important to know the meaning of Web 2.0? In some cases it seems like it is. After all, venture capitalists looking at Web-based companies seem to be more interested in companies doing Web 2.0 versus those that are not. Additionally, some people have a perception that if you are not doing Web 2.0, then you might be using old technology and are potentially dooming yourself to fail. It seems that the leading-edge sites, or those that are getting the highest traffic, also tend to be tied to the concept of Web 2.0. Search for top Web 2.0 sites and you’ll see that the lists often match the top sites on the Web.