There has been many attempts to define Web 2.0 (you can read our definition here), and it still remains an unsolved issue. However, most agree on the main underlying features of Web 2.0, and among them are definitely mashups and sharing.

However, Web 2.0 is becoming business. Big business. Which means that corporations are taking over services like, for example, MySpace. And today we hear the news that MySpace is blocking pictures and videos hosted at Photobucket, the world’s most popular photo sharing/hosting service. There are several speculations of the real reason behind this move. Whatever the real reason is, this points to a major issue with Web 2.0’s development as it gets more and more connected with business.

Corporations, contrary to what they would like you to believe, care about one thing only: money. It’s obvious what it means to the concept of sharing: amassing money and sharing don’t mix well.

But I’d even go so far that corporations don’t have a problem with sharing per se; they have a problem with everything which is not related to making them more money. And this will cause significant problems when it comes to some of the underlying features of the Web 2.0 phenomenon: mashups and sharing.

If big corporations which own social networks and other Web 2.0 products and services keep blocking users from sharing and doing mashups; or cutting them off by introducing their own versions of whatever the people are doing, people will get annoyed. I for sure wouldn’t like to spend hours making my own music video on Photobucket just to get it cut off from MySpace. Or creating my map on Frappr just to see it going out of business because Google launched MyMaps.

This annoyance might become disillusionment with Web 2.0 services. What’s the point of doing cool stuff if corporations can take it away from you at any moment? Just remember AOL and its quick dismissal of its video search engine SingingFish; hundreds of users still daily visit this article and leave angry comments against AOL.

How will this pan out in the end, it’s hard to say. But the attitude of big corporations towards Web 2.0 services and their users has to change. And now, for the obligatory rhetorical question: how often do you see attitudes of big corporations change, if they’re not directly connected with making more money? That’s right: bloody never.

The only course of events we can hope for here is people recognizing what services and products really care about them and abandoning those that don’t.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 11th, 2007 at 4:03 am and is filed under Web, Web 2.0, Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.