ReadWriteWeb

You've heard the grumblings. Web 2.0 is declining, it's so last year....no wait, maybe Web 2.0 is just dead. But is it really? Or has it just become so ubiquitous that it no longer needs a special label anymore? Former Forrester analyst and Groundswell author Charlene Li predicted that social networking would become "like air" - that is, social networks would be everywhere. And now they are. So are blogs, wikis, video-sharing sites, and everything else that comprises "Web 2.0." But does that mean the era of Web 2.0 is over because it finally hit the mainstream?

Tim O'Reilly, co-founder of the Web 2.0 Conference, gave a short address on the 5th anniversary of that event at tonight's Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco and offered some thoughts on what's going to come next. He discussed five applications that he believes point the way.

Two themes stood out: sensors will surpass humans in front of their keyboards as the primary data source on the web and Moore's Law will need to be applied to humanity's greatest problems.

Part One of a Two-Part Series

We're moving beyond the days of a simple search box in which you type a query and get a list of results. Today, companies are trying to build a smarter web - one that understands what things are, how they relate, and perhaps most importantly, what things you're going to like. But has Web 3.0 arrived in its full semantic glory? No, not yet. But it's clear we are getting closer than ever before.

In a memo from the Office of Management and Budget last week, Director Peter Orszag outlined the implementation guidelines [PDF] for the new stimulus bill, requiring all government agencies to provide a feed to disclose funds allocated, and optimize Web pages in an effort to help the public find relevant information through search engines.

"For each of the near term reporting requirements (major communications, formula block grant allocations, weekly reports) agencies are required to provide a feed (preferred: Atom 1.0, acceptable: RSS) of the information so that content can be delivered via subscription."

The Secure Enterprise 2.0 Forum has just released their 2009 industry report and the topic is the top Web 2.0 security threats. Designed to serve as a guideline for assessing the risk involved with using Web 2.0 tools in the workplace, the document is intended to read by anyone considering the introduction of Web 2.0 technology into their workplace. The document doesn't name technologies or companies that in and of themselves are risky, but rather looks at the types of vulnerabilities that Web 2.0 can bring to a business environment.

Everyone knows how well Barack Obama's presidential campaign made use of new media to raise money and market the candidate. We also know how big a role social technology played during inauguration week, from handheld flip HD footage appearing on network TV to people reporting on Twitter about what they liked and disliked. After President Obama took office, spirited debates proliferated in the blogosphere about whether or not whitehouse.gov is Web 2.0-enabled and what the role of President Obama's CTO might be. But one striking trend has largely flown under the national radar: the rise of the goverati.