You've probably seen an increasing number of references to “Web 2.0” recently, and there's been a good deal of confusion over what it really means. Unlike “Internet 2” or “IPv6,” Web 2.0 is not a specific network or technology. It is simply a catchall term for the next wave of business on and usage of the Internet — some of which is already underway. Think of it as a maturing of the Web, as it moves from the heady, naïve and overly ambitious days of its childhood to a more realistic and sustainable early adulthood.
This movement is strongly focused on what's become known as Web services, which move many formerly off-line processes that run on local PCs to online, real-time, interactive processes on the Web.
