Web 2.0. Everyone has a part to play.

From publishing to participation

Web 2.0 describes a set of ideas and practices, rather than a protocol version. In his 2005 essay, Tim O’Reilly explored the web as a platform, participation, and collective intelligence, with examples including blogs, wikis, tagging, and syndication. See What Is Web 2.0.

Write something. Make a connection.

One person writes a blog post. Another follows a link, reads it, and writes a response. People maintain blogrolls, follow updates through RSS, and edit shared knowledge. These everyday contributions help the web grow.

For Web 2.0 Next, the part worth carrying forward is room for everyone to express themselves and participate: your own content, at your own address, and a way to share work you appreciate.

The next chapter we want to write

Web 2.0 Next is our project’s name. It expresses our hopes for the future of the open web. We start with personal websites: accessible addresses for our work, links that help people discover it, and subscriptions that keep those connections alive.

Agents can take part, too. We want them to discover websites, understand their authors, and help share their work and make connections with permission. Each person still decides what to express and what to make public.

Start with something small

Write a post, make something, link to a creator you admire, or subscribe to a website you enjoy. You can also share Web 2.0 Next and your website address with your agent and ask it to help share your website. The next chapter grows from these small, concrete actions.