Is Web 2.0 entering its next phase?
CNET news reports that the overarching theme of this week’s TechCrunch50 conference was one of sensible opportunity and a realization of the limits of social media.
Marissa Miller, Google Vice President of Search Product and User Experience, speaks at the 2009 TechCrunch50 conference. This year's conference was more focused on small changes by market leaders like Google than ambitious ideas by startup companies.
Caroline McCarthy says ,”Innovation on the Web these days comes in the form of fine-tuned features and tweaks, not big and lofty new schemes. TechCrunch50′s lineup showed that while there are very promising ideas out there, the new stuff is about improving existing concepts, not creating something off-the-wall new.”
This is reminiscent of the Hype Cycle used by Garter Inc., a leading technology research and advisory company. In this view of the lifecyle of technologies the “peak of inflated expectations” where unrealistic hype drives a large interest in a technology, is followed by the “trough of disillusionment”, a “slope of enlightenment” and a “plateau of productivity”. Where are social media tools in this cycle? Does this newfound sensibility by industry insiders mean that we are entering the trough of disillusionment where the media backs off of coverage a technology? What ways do you see Web 2.0 climbing the slope of enlightenment?
