Wed

Jan 3
2007

Tim O'Reilly

Tim O'Reilly

Web 2.0 Most Cited Wikipedia Entry of the Year

Jen Pahlka of CMP, our co-producer on the Web 2.0 Conference, just sent a pointer to an Advertising Age article noting that Web 2.0 was the most cited Wikipedia article of the year, beating out such pop-culture topics as Steve Irwin, Mark Foley, and Snakes on a Plane, as well as other tech topics like blog, Ajax, and RSS.

And I have to say, the Wikipedia article on Web 2.0 is indeed pretty darn good, so I just incremented that link count by one... (But do still read my own What is Web 2.0? :-)

Despite all the debate about whether the name is or is not useful, which seems to crop up with some regularity in comments on this blog, it has indeed captured something important about the zeitgeist of the time. And I do think that the fundamental ideas of Web 2.0 are indeed important for any startup in today's network-oriented marketplace. As I keep telling people, it's not just about the web, it's about the design of systems that harness network effects to get better the more people use them. And that insight, and the lessons of consumer web companies, can be applied to applications increasingly distant from the consumer web.


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Comments: 7

  Paul [01.03.07 06:07 PM]

Congrats on coining the "Web 2.0" meme, however hated or beloved it may be.. =)

  Kathryn [01.03.07 06:47 PM]

I enjoyed the Economist's World in 2007 take on Web 2.0- "When the hype dies down." It emphasizes the emergence of REAL value Web 2.0 companies. This will happen when the rest of the world discovers "blogs" "wiki" and "podcasts" -- deferring to personal media on a massive scale. That will create real change socially, culturally and politically. Then Web 2.0 will really mean something.

  Cem Basman [01.04.07 05:44 AM]

Congratulations, Tim! But the Wikipedia article on Web 2.0 has a note:

"The neutrality of this article or section may be compromised by weasel words.
You can help Wikipedia by improving weasel-worded statements."

Weasel words ... cute ;)

  Paul [01.04.07 08:23 AM]

Hello Tim, interesting article. I agree with you completely that much of the ideas of Web 2.0 are important for a startup in network-oriented marketplace.

  Tim O'Reilly [01.04.07 10:38 AM]

Kathryn -- You've got it wrong, I fear. While blogs and wikis are important, thinking that they are the heart of Web 2.0 completely misses the point. Web 2.0 is about building applications that harness network effects to get better the more people use them. This is true of Wikipedia, but not of every wiki, and true of the blogging network in general, but not necessarily specific blogs. And it's true of Google, and Amazon, and YouTube, far more than it's true of blogging, I think.

  Kathryn [01.08.07 09:20 AM]

My point is really about mass adoption -- that the real tools of Web2.0 will be those that help people develop a more personal approach to media on a grand scale - changing the way the world consumes all kinds of media. I agree that blogs/wikis are small potatoes, but I meant them just as part of a bigger trend - empowering people to communicate. YouTube obviously falls into that category as do some of the social networking sites that include personal blogs and are starting to function as personal media hubs. Google and Amazon, however, offer more of a commodity/support, (search is not behavior altering anymore, although maybe it will be again in the future :>).

  cms web 2.0 [08.15.07 05:24 AM]

Web 2.0 is great,
I just start adventure with w2.0
and still learning...
I have little problems with graphics.. but still
working on it ;)
My first SEO web2.0 CMS will be soon ready :D

Greetings

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