Web 2.0 or Bubble 2.0?

"The Internet changes everything" was a common phrase in the 1995-2000 period. Indeed, a lot of things did change for business, but a lot of things stayed fundamentally the same. Anyone who had the nerve to say that some early Internet businesses were overvalued, that there was a bubble and that many of the ventures had no business fundamentals was decried as someone who didn't 'get it'. When the bubble eventually burst, as all bubbles do, there were real lessons to learn - for vendors, investors and end-user organisations alike. Today, the Web 2.0 phenomenon is being described as another bubble in the making, although few have the public nerve to predict when the bubble is going to burst. This report looks back at lessons learned in Bubble 1.0 for two groups of stakeholders - end-user businesses and investors - to see what can be learned by analogy about the enduring impact of Bubble 2.0. By taking a realistic approach to Web 2.0, both types of stakeholder can help ensure that the baby is not thrown out with the bathwater when the bubble does burst.