The web 2.0 -- a concept launched in 2004 - has been based on the
notions of community and sharing, with a wealth of websites whose
content is supplied by users, such as blogs, wikis, social networks or
collaborative encyclopedias. Wikipedia, Facebook and Twitter, of
course, but also tens of thousands of others. The term "web 2.0" was
invented in 2004 by Tim O'Reilly, founder of
O'Reilly Media, and a major publisher of computer books, as the title
for conferences he was organizing. The web 2.0 concept may begin to
fulfill the dream of Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the web in 1990, as
"the web being so generally used that it became a realistic mirror (or
in fact the primary embodiment) of the ways in which we work and play
and socialize." (excerpt from his short essay "The World Wide Web: A
very short personal history", 1998)
2005 > Smartphones or ebook readers?
Can ebook readers like Sony Reader and Kindle really compete with
cellphones and smartphones? Will people prefer reading on mobile
handsets like the iPhone 3G (with its Stanza Reader) or the T-Mobile G1
(with Google's platform Android and its reader), or will they prefer
using ebook readers to enjoy a larger screen? Or is there a market for
both smartphones and ebook readers? These were some fascinating
questions in a still emerging market.