Bigger And Better Than Ever

Think Web 2.0 is a lotta hype backed up by little realism? The Web 2.0 Expo held last week (April 15-18) proved the exact opposite. Well, maybe not the exact opposite (there was still a fair amount of hype). But it was all very real. If not, 30,000 feet of space was a lot to fill with hot air and no substance.

Good thing there was a lot of substance at the Expo, where dozens of exhibitors showed off the stuff start-ups and established entities are made of at this very moment.

There have been several Web 2.0-oriented conferences in the past. O’Reilly has been a major promoter of most. But this year’s Expo at Moscone West raised the bar, attracting sponsors along the likes of Adobe, AOL, WebEx, Amazon, Ask, eBay, Google, IBM, Intel, Nokia, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Tellme, Federated Media, Red Herring, and many others. If that doesn’t tell you how big Web 2.0 has gotten, nothing will.

What was covered? Everything. There were characters on stage that were among the most notable in the tech world – Jeff Bezos, Eric Schmidt, and Jeff Weiner (Executive Vice President, Network Division, Yahoo!) – where they covered items ranging from new developments spearheaded by burgeoning businesses and the largest of giants - and how big behemoths like Google and Yahoo! were tackling the issues presented by the Web 2.0 movement. It was a lot of talk about the good with some assessment about the bad, too.

Some of the most familiar faces were grilled and philosophized alongside Mr Web 2.0 himself (allegedly an unabashed self-proclamation), Tim O’Reilly, and others talked in more collegial settings about the successes and flops (and the stuff in between) of today as well as new products and services in companies’ respective pipelines.

Richard MacManus, a mind with fantastic insight into goings on in tech, wrote on the venerated website Read/WriteWeb about his own experience at this year’s Web 2.0 Expo and compared the event to those that have come before. Speaking in a very casual manner, MacManus summarized that the Expo had had it’s ups and downs (WiFi glitches were among the biggest downers. Understandable, considering it is a conference about the Web), but that the unique stories and the prevalence of discussions both in the spotlight and in the hallways was on a scale that had previously not been seen. And that could only mean great things for attendees – and clients/users.

In effect, this year’s Web 2.0 Expo showcased the best in the biz, but more importantly displayed the best byproduct of Web 2.0 development: the naturally communal atmosphere, which has turned out to be a major factor in production of better, more refined products and services. There’s definitely the demand aspect which keeps coders coding, designers designing, and sellers selling, but the fact that cross pollination is such an integral part of what makes up Web 2.0 means that there’s just no getting around the need of product developers to feed off one another.

Heard anything exciting come out of this year’s Web 2.0 Expo? Let us know in the comments!