The attorney working in high technology may be seeing the term "Web 2.0" a lot these days. Coined in 2004, the term is often cited to signify harnessed collective intelligence. It represents the widespread use of the web as an interconnected, bi-directional system of people and information. The map includes the participation age of blogging versus publishing, wikis, tagging versus taxonomy, page rankings, reputations, and user reviews. For instance, eBay, Inc. allows sellers to build reputations based on the comments of buyers, and Amazon.com allows readers to write book reviews on products sold.
With Web 2.0, the network is a platform, and the applications deliver rich user experiences (e.g. Ajax, Flash, Laszlo). For instance software is delivered as a continuously updated service (SaaS), with data from multiple sources, including those of users.
Collective intelligence comes from people who improve services through use (e.g. BitTorrent, Wikipedia, MySpace). This leads to online services, not packaged products, that are cost-effective, scalable, adoptable globally, and informal. There is simplicity in usage, such as interactive models that do not require training. To leverage Web 2.0, the enterprise will likely establish reuse versus build, and provide less structure in order to open up to users.
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