The term “Web 2.0″ is (and has been for a while) one of the most over-used and misunderstood phrases in business. I always get a chuckle when someone says they are “all about web 2.0″, when in actuality, they have no clue what it even means. They often use it to represent the “generic comeback” of the tech startup. To some people, any company started after the bubble is a “web 2.0″ company. Funny.

For those who really still don’t get the movement, you owe it to yourself to watch this video. It is a bit long, but be patient – the payoff is worth it. This is done in the style of Lessig and Dick Hardt. Click the video clip below to play it.

Thanks to Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University for putting this gem together.

Cheers.

Jack Humphrey had a great post this morning summing up why he thinks the Web 2.0 free-for-all is over, yet the Web 2.0 movement is just beginning. A great read, especially if you are an entrepreneur feverishly building an online community, social network, video-sharing site, etc. that you think you are going to sell for millions in the next 30 days. This is a logical and timely extension to my post on the real value of a social network.

The real winners are going to be those who can innovate and build businesses around them – not just be the first guy to clear a path into the woods.

Cheers.

Inspired again by this post from Fred Wilson at Union Square Ventures, I began thinking of the differences in the capital required to launch something these days. Much ado has been made over Web 2.0, and how much cheaper it is to build technology solutions these todays.

I came across an old proposal that I received from a vendor years ago (in the 1.0 days), and got a good laugh out of it.

We all know that things are cheaper to build these days, but I thought it might be interesting to put together a post illustrating the actual dollar differences in hardware, software, services, and labor costs. And yes, this is my last official post for 2006 – so happy new year in advance (4 hours from now!).

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According to Fred Wilson at Union Square Ventures, they do. If you are a web entrepreneur, you owe it to yourself to read this post.

This chart showing the capital requirements of “web 1.0″ startups compared to “web 2.0″ startups is brilliant (click to enlarge). Notice the nice curve on the web 2.0 line, which reflects the relative ease of getting into the game these days. But note how eventually, you end up with a “real” business, and the cash requirements become very similar. Good stuff, Fred.

Cheers.

When building a new company, there is an unmistakable feeling you get when you reach the launch date. When those first users are in there, you feel like the weight of the world is off your shoulders. This is the closest that men can ever get to actually birthing a baby. On the other hand, there is the unmistakable punch in the gut that reminds you that the games are just beginning.

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Today was a very cool day. This morning I spent a couple of hours with the Kettering Executive Network, a group of around 500 C-level/VP-level executives here in the Atlanta area. I got a chance to network with some old friends, meet some kind new faces, and best of all, show off HiddenMarket as a platform for B2B social networking and market intelligence.

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Fred Wilson at Union Square Ventures had a very interesting post yesterday (Friending). In it, Fred shares his views on the evolution of “contacts”, “connections”, “friends”, et al. A very interesting read, and timely, given what we are doing here at HiddenMarket.

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