Web 2.0 Tool

It would appear that money is the defining point between the 1st generation web and Web 2.0. John Batelle (http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/7486.asp) explains, "Version one of the internet was short on execution, very short on profits -- the market and the technology were not ready for all our ideas. Version two is long on execution, it's long on profits, and I think, actually, there's a lot more opportunity now to start new companies."

If profit is the motive, then the tools that are being developed and deployed should be viewed as opportunities to make money. Further since many of the tools are open source there is a an usual market condition. Tools don't make money by being purchased but rather by being used. So the question then becomes how does wikis, mypages, blogs, etc make money for somebody?

The subtlety is that just about everyone of the "new" tools have a link to money-making site(s), advice or links area (also pointing to money making sites) . The Google model follows Batelle's thought's by making more money - big money - by providing a service that also extracts cash from users and advertisers.

I understand that there are altruistic developers out there that are developing free or open source tools for Web 2.0 but the main force behind the internet is $.

The mainstream tools such as wikis, searches (like Google) and blogs are by far the most commonly used. I have also used PERL scripted web site development software such as metadot. One of the real advantages of these packages they allow addition of widgets, gadgets, or services to customize the interface and fucntionality to meet the users requirements.