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What makes something Web 2.0?
Allen Stern - March 8th, 2007
As I was checking out the news wire today, I saw the following headline, "CampusVue 8.2 Brings Web 2.0 to Higher Education". And so I started to read the release and wondered if this really qualifies as Web 2.0.
Here are their upgrade notes:
-
Migration of the entire portal product to Microsoft(R) .NET 2.0.
-
Home page customization, allowing users to personalize their home pages' content and layout.
-
Content syndication with RSS, enabling students and staff to easily add an unlimited amount of external content directly to their homepages.
-
More proactive and comprehensive student-faculty advising with enhanced event-driven workflows and contact management.
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Unofficial student transcripts now viewable online.
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Improved security through Active Directory support and authentication.
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Integration to CampusVantage(TM) Financials/HR solution provides seamless transitions between the products and enables users to access CampusVantage self service functions right from the staff portal.
So I ask you, the experts… what makes something Web 2.0? Forget defining it in sentence form. What technology characteristics must it possess to be classified Web 2.0?
Is it:
- RSS
- Wiki
- Ajax
- CSS
- Forums
- Blog
- Email lists
- Mashup
- Personalization
- Start page
- what am I missing????
Based on this list, this announcement from CampusVue does not qualify as Web 2.0.



Web 2.0 is not about technology, it is about making commerce, markets and society overall better, cooler, more efficient – redefining economics by using conversation, collective/collaborative intelligence, networks, and communities. Innovation and as generation of unique value.
Technology is instrumental to this, some of the ingredients, the magic is in the receipe though.
Sharing
I think a big element of companies that have been labeled Web 2.0 is the social factor. In other words, the fact that you can share, make friends, and network based on a common interest.