Setting the Stage – Thoughts on “Web 2.0″

Let’s get this Web 2.0 talk out of the way – does anyone else feel like it might be just a little bit out of control? I figured I’d use the special occasion of my first post as an excuse to lay down some ground rules. Well, really just one: This blog is not about Web 2.0. It’s about user experience, which extends further ahead than Web 2.0 ever could. For anyone unfamiliar with the situation lately, I shall elaborate.

While the term “Web 2.0″ was coined at a time when the concept was useful for reference, it’s grown far beyond it’s original intended meaning. It now refers not only to a socially-oriented web, but to interactivity and AJAX-style programming for webapps in general. Perhaps the most gratuitous infiltration the term has made is into the field of visual design. If it doesn’t have pinstripes, gradients or a reflection, clients themselves will speak up: “Can we give this button a bit more of a Web 2.0 feel?”

This formulaic design style has become the punchline of parody sites across the web, such as this logo generator. With some, it’s hard to tell if it’s a joke or not – and admittedly, they can come in handy. For instance, a stripe generator, reflection maker and even a tartan designer can serve as useful tools for beginners or anyone in a hurry to appease a frenzied client. (Plus, the background image generators are great for profile pages on social networks such as Twitter.) So where does the joke end and the seriously useful stuff begin? At what point have we gone too far? Here’s another logo design service for you to examine as you ponder these questions.

The moral of the story here is that, yes, we’ll probably talk about social media, some fancy webapps and even some high-gloss designs. But ’round these parts, “Web 2.0″ is a phrase that will only hold us back. Let’s look to the horizon with a practical mindset – accept what useful tools exist (regardless of their origins or seriousness) while blazing a trail into the unknown wilderness of the web’s future.