Web 2.0

The oldest forms of media may finally be establishing themselves in the Web 2.0 landscape. WhatsOnMyBookshelf.com has just entered the book-trading realm yesterday, but we're not entirely sure if it's the most recent contender because sites like this appear to be popping up all the time.

Just last month, for example, Rafe Needleman wrote about Swaptree, another site that allows people to swap books, as well as DVDs and other media. Like WhatsOnMyBookshelf, Swaptree is supposed to launch in July.

A key difference between the two sites is the use of a credit or point system, … Read more

Because so many readers appreciated our link to the 10 "dumbest" businesses that made it big, we're offering up yet another list that may be of interest to all the entrepreneurs out there: 10 ways to drive traffic to your blog or site.

Confused about the direction of search technology? We certainly are. That's why we were particularly interested in this primer on "Search 2.0 vs. Traditional Search."

A lot of blogs and sites write about this important area of development, often in generalized or densely technical terms. But Read/WriteWeb, a part of the Web 2.0 Workgroup blog network, helps explain the status of search technology the best kind of learning tool: examples.

Specifically, the blog summarizes five hot technologies that are on the front lines of search development--Swicki, Rollyo, Clusty, Wink and Lexxe. (Is it … Read more

We're not sure exactly what this is for, but it seems appropriate amid today's headlines involving oil consumption, global warming and other issues tied to population growth. Royal Sapien has posted "Population: One," an illustration in which every pixel represents a person on Earth.

One of the hottest interactive battlefields between Yahoo and Google involves a land grab. But rather than the virtual kind of the late '90s, this one involves real brick and mortar.

Yahoo may have raised the stakes significantly by doing a deal with Zillow, the popular site that just came out this year but is already changing the game in property search and research. The partnership makes perfect sense for Yahoo as it tries to strengthen its presence in local markets while pursuing a strategy as the social-networking portal of choice, having already acquired such sites as Flickr and Delicious.… Read more

In continuing our theme of the week-- top 10 lists--we combine more of our favorite topics: lists and dumb ideas. WeirdTechNewsHub has assembled the "Top 10 Dumbest Online Business Ideas That Made It Big Time" for our amusement and edification. (For the record, we don't necessarily agree with all the ideas dubbed "dumb," but we were surprised to learn that antenna balls were so lucrative.)

When it comes to tennis, I've got skills.

The level of sheer irrationality I've been known to exhibit in the occasional game-time outburst ranks right up there with likes of the legendary John McEnroe.

The only problem is I never have anyone to play with.

You can blame that on my courtside manner, but I really don't know many tennis players to begin with and certainly none that share my "passion."

Lucky for me, there is a new Web site called Mesh Tennis, dedicated to tennis and the pursuit of the match.

The site, which … Read more

By design or by accident, the idea of asking consumers to create ads and design products has already become an accepted practice. The phenomon's immediate adoption is even more remarkable considering that it has taken place in an ossified industry.

Just yesterday, for example, Yahoo launched a campaign urging the public to submit ads featuring its redesigned home page. Other companies have asked customers to design their own products, some of which are even being tracked on blogs dedicated specifically to the trend.

These initiatives typically tout the importance of companies creating new interactive relationships with their consumers in … Read more

Tips for Web start-ups sometimes seem to churn out as frequently as the technologies themselves. But that's no reason to stop posting them, especially given this industry's dubious history.

So today we pass along "11 Suggestions For Not Being a Dot-Bomb 2.0," posted by the blog Dead2.0. One of the tips that resonates with those of us who have been around for awhile the second entry, which begins, "Be a complete business, not just a feature."

But perhaps the most valuable pieces of advice are not necessarily related to Web 2.0 … Read more