Moving on to Web 3.0

There's an interesting discussion online about whether the new network-centric social software applications that have come to be known as Web 2.0 will eventually evolve into enterprise applications. Phil Wainewright calls this shift Web 3.0. According to Wainewright's initial post:

I'd like to make one thing is absolutely clear right from the outset: Web 3.0 isn't just about shopping, entertainment and search. It's also going to deliver a new generation of business applications that will see business computing converge on the same fundamental on-demand architecture as consumer applications. So this is not something that's of merely passing interest to those who work in enterprise IT. It will radically change the organizations where they work and their own career paths.

I don't know if I'm sold on this, but I've heard stranger things. My biggest issue at this point is that most office workers are too comfortable in the world of Windows applications for this to happen right now, but no one is saying this will happen overnight. John Hagel has his own opinions on how Web 2.0 will or will not morph into Web 3.0.

Phil is focusing on two related changes. First, the emergence of the traditional enterprise as a significant new customer set for the technologies that are shaping Web 2.0. Second, and related to the first, an urgent need to define and deploy more sustainable business models. In particular, he has been hammering appropriately on the need to define other revenue models beyond advertising for the enterprise market. But these are not profound technology shifts. These are marketing opportunities and business challenges created by Web 2.0 technology.

Whenever Web 2.0 fans talk about their favorite applications getting traction on the enterprise level, they point to Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, which implemented wikis to replace its intranet. As a journalist, one thing I've noticed is that the Dresdner example has been kicked around for some time now. If Web 3.0 is coming, we'd better see some more examples soon.