Web 2.0 . Aka live web; or the next net. It is also an umbrella term for the second wave of web development, said to have been coined by Tim O'Reilly who sponsored the first Web 2.0 conference in 2004. The 'meme map' he devised is still a useful graphical representation of the Web 2.0 universe. Web 1.0 was about usability of passive storehouses, static pages and wires. Web 2.0 is about active user experience, where the web itself becomes an information, interaction and application platform where users actively create and customise web pages, find and share information and carry out myriad activities (not just mere transacting). Catalysts for Web 2.0 services and experiences include fast broadband - which in turn has enabled asynchronous data transmission (not having to wait for something to happen whilst something else is happening), cheap hardware and open-source software that is now useable beyond a narrow techie constituency. There's not that much new technology in the Web 2.0 idea. Wikis, blogs, RSS (Really Simple Syndication), LAMP (Linux operating system, Apache web server, MySQL database, PhP/Perl/Phython scripting languages) and the like have been around for some time. What is new is that people and companies are figuring out how to use and combine these technologies, applications and tools into effective business, social and collaborative uses and business models. No surprise then that Web 2.0 ideas are now fashionable in the business, corporate ...