I promised myself I wasn’t going to jump into this silly debate, but I just can’t help it anymore. Is “Web 2.0″ real or not? That argument is endless, mindless, and pointless. The name, in and of itself, is quite contrived. Someone needed to put a label on what was happening (or about to happen) to wrap a conference around it. That’s where the discussion over the term began, and that’s where it should end. What we’re in the middle of is not a version update - it’s a renaissance, and that’s what it should be called (if anything):

• A rebirth or revival.

• A revival of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor.
• The period of such a revival.
• Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Renaissance or its artistic and intellectual works and styles.

Now, let’s see if there are any more allusions to be drawn?

• During the Renaissance small Italian republics developed into despotisms as the centers of power moved from the landed estates to the cities. Europe itself slowly developed into groups of self-sufficient compartments.

• Beginning in the latter half of the 15th cent., a humanist faith in classical scholarship led to the search for ancient texts that would increase current scientific knowledge.
• Humanism in Renaissance rhetoric was a reaction to Aristotelian scholasticism, as espoused by Francis Bacon, Averroës, and Albertus Magnus, among others. While the scholastics claimed a logical connection between word and thought, the humanists differentiated between physical utterance and intangible meditation; they gave common usage priority over sets of logical rules.
• This experimentation led to the development of contrapuntal music, or music that hinged on the pleasing interplay of two melodic lines.

“Web 2.0,” much like the terms and technologies that envelop it, is perfect for elevator pitches and business plans. The desire to slap a name onto this renaissance is only human nature… even though nobody can agree on where we’re going or what we’re doing or what it is! We’re in the middle of a movement, my friends - let’s just enjoy it. Let’s just mold it into whatever it gets molded into. “This” is a renaissance - and it won’t be properly defined until it’s well past us. Stop arguing over what it is and what it’s not - just get on with creating things, sharing information, and generally trying to make this world a better place.