What does Web 2.0 actually mean?

I keep seeing "Web 2.0" pop up all over the place but I can't seem to work out what it is exactly. Is it a technology or a movement?

What does Web 2.0 actually mean?
Tim O'Reilly, one of the biggest proponents, has a nice article defining what its supporters say it is. (Link below)





The Register polled its users and got a slightly more cynical take. (Other link below)





The truth can be gleaned between the two - chances are, depending on who you talk to, they mean one of these two stances.


Source(s):


http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/...


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/11/...
Reply:Web 2.0 generally refers to a second generation of services available on the World Wide Web that let people collaborate, and share information online. In contrast to the first generation, Web 2.0 gives users an experience closer to desktop applications than the traditional static Web pages. The term was popularized by O'Reilly Media and MediaLive International as the name for a series of web development conferences that started in October 2004. Web 2.0 applications often use a combination of techniques devised in the late 1990s, including public web service APIs (dating from 1998), Ajax (1998), and web syndication (1997). They often allow for mass publishing (web-based social software). The term may include blogs and wikis. To some extent Web 2.0 is a buzzword, incorporating whatever is newly popular on the Web (such as tags and podcasts), and its meaning is still in flux.