Web 2.0 and Open Source

From David Johnson

Web 2.0 is not about having cool software to install on your own personal web server, it’s about getting locked into services provided by and trusting your data to Web sites that you do not control

I don’t know, may be because now it’s too easy to roll out your own Web 2.0 application in a weekend using smaller components and frameworks (a.k.a Rails)?

The Open Source / Free web (1.0?) applications were mostly about a huge code base that you can download and setup at some premises no one can argue. But, how about having the full control over the code. Not modify the ones that you download, but rather build from scratch whatever you see serve the business requirements. After all, there is a “configuration” learning curve for most of these Web 1.0 applications.

I agree that it’s hard to come up with a large set of features within a short period of time (did I say weekend), but, most of the quoted/neviewed/available Web 2.0 services are very easy to implement. The success of these services is all in the idea and the usability rather than the set of features it contains. I guess Rails and such are promoting a smaller code base (with no tyring setup configurations) vs. a large feature set with a code base that becomes more of a green monster.

Web 2.0 is the era of “start-building-something”. It’s the delivery of ideas rather than the delivery of code.