Web two.. point... oh?

I'm having a hard time reconciling myself with the term 'Web 2.0'. I just don't get it.

Technically, and this is according to Wikipedia, "The term 'Web 2.0' describes the changing trends in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aim to enhance creativity, communications, secure information sharing, collaboration and functionality of the web."

But doesn't the qualifier '2.0' denote that something is a new and different version of something that came before it?

When flight progressed beyond the realm of Army/Navy/Air Force pilots and grew to include passengers, it wasn't called 'Flying 2.0'. A plane was and still is a plane (although pilots still seem to prefer 'aircraft'). It wasn't until flight moved into a new area, space, that the term spaceflight was used to separate flying in the two realms.

To me, it looks like 'Web 2.0' is just a fancy name given to the natural progression of technology as it enters into the mainstream. Web.20 isn't exactly a new Internet. It's the same Internet, it’s just spread across a lot more places and available to a lot more people.

So, at what point did the Internet become 'Web 2.0'? Did someone sign up on AOL one day, push the Internet over the edge, have a lengthy e-mail correspondence and poof? Suddenly the Internet became more social and interactive than informative?

There are still static websites that don't do anything but let the reader read the page then navigate away from it. At the same time, back in the days of really early Internet, it was used primarily as a means for scholars and scientists to share information from quite a log way away. To me, this is a very interactive use of the Internet, one that’s not that different from the Internet today.

The Internet now, one could argue, is interactive in a different way. But if this new interactive social media Internet is based on things like social bookmarking and instant messenger, I don’t really see enough of a difference between ‘primitive’ Internet and ‘Web 2.0’. All these forms of social media existed, just in early, slower forms. Is it really necessary to denote modern Internet as something entirely different? Do we need ‘Web 2.0’?

So many fish, but which Brand to reel in?

We've been talking a lot about online personalities lately, and the analogy is clear - though though not expressly stated - that selling yourself to an employer is a lot like selling yourself to a mate. You need to find someone who wants the same things as you, that you want to be with, and that you can connect with. Someone who offers you enough incentives to stay with them. Someone you can really 'see' yourself with.

We all make compromises to be in a relationship the same way we make compromises for work. If your significant other doesn't like smoking, you try to quit. If your employer demands that you wear jeans only on Fridays, you start shopping for business casual clothes. When going after a mate, you strive to be their ideal match t get them. When applying for a job, you become the model employee to get it. So with all the different brands we're developing for our professional lives, doesn't it make sense that we'd develop brands for our personal lives?

And doesn't it follow that in this age of social media and 'Web 2.0' that there would be a website to cater to each of your personal brands? Of course! You can choose a job based on what you want, just like you can narrow down your search for a mate based on characteristics - before even searching on a dating site!

Everyone's seen the commercials for standard dating sites like eHarmony, Plenty of Fish and Lavalife. These are the sites that cater to 'regular' people. But there is a host of niche sites that narrow down your search right off the bat. Through Google searching on a lazy Sunday, I found four such sites.

- JDate.com is a dating site for Jewish singles.
- Beautifulpeople.com requires users to apply to the site. Applicants must upload a picture and existing members vote them in - that is, if the applicant is deemed 'beautiful' enough.
- Intelligentpeople.com requires users to pass an IQ Test before they are invited to join. (I even found a neat article about this site.)
- Rightstuffdating.com only accepts users in certain positions from certain universities. They even check your status based on the student/faculty ID number you supply.

Obviously I need to see what kind of people join these sites. Online dating is strange enough, but these niche sites? While I can't join rightstuffdating.com (I'm not a graduate student or faculty member at one of their elite and Ive League universities), I can try for beautifulpeople.com and intelligentpeople.com. I can't help but wonder what's to be found...

Shall I continue on with a sort of social experiment? Can I market one of my brands enough to get into the apparently elite world of niche online dating?