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.

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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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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There has been quite a bit of buzz lately about Web 2.0 startups, and the importance (or not) of having a formal business plan in place. The whole Paul Graham, YCombinator, Kiko failure has brought all of this to the forefront. Is business planning important? You bet.

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I have been working on this post for some time now, and for a variety of reasons, simply have yet to finish it. However, after reading today’s offering by Alex “Semper Fi” Muse over at the Texas Startup Blog, I am scrapping my efforts on this front. He has managed to summarize my thoughts in a way that has eluded me; so instead of mirroring his efforts, I will simply add a few comments.

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iBloks is a new media play that recently announced a $3M round of financing, which followed a $500K angel round. Some folks out there have questioned the “utility” value of such a product, and the motives of the investors who parted the linings of their wallets to pony up the $3M.

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