My good friend and fellow (although he cringes when I say it) journalist Paul Boutin has this Web 2.0 shakedown today in Slate. And if you don’t know what Web 2.0 is, or think that it’s yet-another-meaningless-buzzword, read on:
Beyond that, publicists and self-promoters invoke Web 2.0 whenever they want to tag something as new, cool, and undiscovered—”This could be a big story for you, Paul!” That kind of hucksterism is what sends editors reaching for their blue pencils. Prior to Newsweek’s feature, the term “Web 2.0” only appeared in national publications wrapped in protective quote marks or cordoned off behind phrases like “what some in Silicon Valley are calling.” Before Newsweek released the word, Kong-like, from its restraining quotes, they braced readers with a long disclaimer: “The generic term for this movement, especially among the hundreds of new companies jamming the waiting rooms of venture-capital offices, is Web 2.0, but that’s misleading. …”
