So it's well accepted we've been in the Web 2.0 generation for a while now. Characteristics that have been well adapted in many of the top sites are user generated content, relationships between users, and other social factors. We've had many services created just because of the web 2.0 paradigm, and it's been extensively blogged and debated. Basically, what I'm curious about, is what "defines" a web generation? When can we conclusively say that we've reached Web 3.0 (or whatever the name of the next generation will be)?
Web 2.0 was developed as a catchphrase by the media and tech "leaders". As soon as these people feel we have developed enough new software to come up with another catch phrase, we'll be in web 3.0.
Despite it being a catchphrase, I think it has significant legitimacy behind it. Web 0, the initial web phase was all about self-authoring. Web pages were created by hand, designs were mainly one column down scrolling. User moderated web indexes controlled the information flow, ala the Yahoo! index, or dmoz, etc. Web 1.0 was characterized by multicolumn design, overwhelming noisy, information packed design, algorithm-based search, and a lot of computer generated content. Web 2.0 is the social generation, with social, mass human based search, tagging, ultra clean, ultra minimalistic design with rounded edges and bright colors. Ajax applications break out here, and ease of use / intuitiveness becomes a much larger goal of most apps.