Following on from my last post, I saw this comment from Tim O’Reilly stating that Web 2.0 is all about controlling data.  I think he’s spot on.
Well, obviously this is a market with a lot of froth in it already. I have to say there are a lot of me-too products and companies. Yet another social network, of the 15th flavor — that’s common in every new technology revolution. There are imitators who have marginal improvements….
…That goes back to a major theme of web 2.0 that people haven’t yet tweaked to. It’s really about data and who owns and controls, or gives the best access to, a class of data.
I think we are tweaking to this, however there is still a way to go and the more good quality sites we see that have at their core not just a great visual experience, but operating as a service, then the sooner we can clear the froth and find the coffee!
May 8th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
I would have to agree - although I wouldn’t say web2.0 is about the data but rather, the competitive advantage for web services, is the data.
It makes me wonder how does the whole open ethos of web2.0 work with the harsh reality of business?
It also makes me wonder about the Myspace photobucket acquisition…it was a bit like the Google Doubleclick acquisition. Facebook is gaining traction (like MSFT with advertising) - the threat to myspace was that their users stored their data offsite, and at any time a user could switch to another platform.
Maybe the value chain will evolve where there are those that host data, and those that manipulate the data, rather than now where the two are interlinked. But I don’t see that being driven from business - it most probably will be from consumers (with privacy concerns, rights to ‘attention’, etc)