Web2.0 is getting old. Whats next?

It is official now that Techcrunch is buying Fuckedcompany. When I heard these rumors, it came as a surprise to me. Why would a company specializing in upcoming startup ventures be possibly interested in another company who makes money (hopefully) on failed ventures. Philosophically, it does not make any sense. But strategically it is a good move by the Techcrunch management. In management principals, they are adopting what MBAs call as "risk mitigation".

As all business cycles, Web 2.0 also has ups and downs. We all saw the hype that was created by the acquisition of Myspace, and Youtube. Even Time magazine could not remain unaffected by the hype and decided to name "You" as the person of the year. That was the peak of Web2.0. Things started to cool off a little after that. We have not seen any mega deal for Web 2.0 companies. New startups are definitely coming up every single day; but most of them seem to be following the same "community" model with "hopeful" advertisement as the main revenue model. This can not be sustained for a long timg. We need something new. Something that would change the landscape. Something that would force people to turn their heards at the technology and say "WOW". As of now, that is missing the Web 2.0 startup scene and thats why experts have started predicting the downward slope of Web2.0.

Recent blog by Peter Rip gave a very interesting comparison of the current user hits for Techcrunch, Gigaom, and Technorati. In liew of recent slowdown in viewership of Techcrunch, I completely agree with Michael's (and Techcrunch Management's) decision to mitigate their risk by preparing themselves for low cycles of Web2.0 businesses.

So, where do we technology savvy people with flair for new ventures stand? Well, if Web2.0 is getting old, then there must be something new coming up. Afterall, its the law of nature. New things replace existing ones which in future get called "old ones". So, whats next? There is big hype about Web3.0. Experts are still arguing about what 3.0 is? Some call it Semantic web, some call it detailed widgets, personalization. My opinion is that technologies that help the users in their daily lives will be the next hype. It happened with Web 1.0 (email, chat, ebay) and 2.0 ( blog, myspace, youtube).

What do people want now? I want everything to be simple. Very simple. Not only on internet, but in my daily life. I want accurate weather information. I want to see news that affects me directly (not interested in whats happening in Afghanistan...unless thats affecting me directly). I want to get traffic report for my route, not for every highway in 100 miles radius. I want internet to give me what I want. I do not want to see advertisements on TV/Internet. Come up with a new method to make revenue. Advertisements have been there for almost 100 years now. Isnt it time to change the model? Come up with technologies that helps me with my daily life. Something that affects me positively and directly. If that means altering existing definitions, then do that. Web2.0 did it quite effectively. Why should we expect less from 3.0?

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