"Don't be evil." It's a seemingly simple concept. I would even go as far as to say that the majority of people in this country abide by this concept. It also just so happens to be a motto of Google. Does that mean that Google came to be one of the biggest companies in the U.S. by not being evil? Well, I am not sure, but they are definitely getting a lot of help from Web 2.0 based technologies. If you have heard of the phrase 'Web 2.0' but aren't sure what it means, don't be alarmed, you are not alone. There is no clear-cut definition for the phrase but it can be summarized by a few general characteristics. Mainly, it has the basic concept of a "network as a platform," meaning users are delivered and allowed to use the application entirely through a web browser. The users own the data on those sites and are able to exercise control over that data. It has architecture that encourages users to add value to the application as they use it. And finally, it has rich user interface and may have some type of social networking aspects.
The first thing that came to my mind was Google's new spreadsheets capability. About two months ago I said sayonara Excel, and began building my spreadsheets via Google's web based application. I can now access my spreadsheets from anywhere and share them with anyone. As Paul Graham pointed out, in his article on Web 2.0, if this trend continues much of the software companies that dominate the market now, but do not have these Web 2.0 based applications up and running (yes, that means Microsoft), may be in some sort of jeopardy. If Google were to ever bring down the behemoth that is Microsoft, they will definitely need to rethink their current motto.
