Catching up with web 2.0

Do you remember the fuss about web 2.0? Was it just internet snobbery distinguishing between sites that were up to 'the mark' and those that weren't??

To an extent, I am sure that was true, ie. if you didn't have the right stuff on your site, then you were branded old hat. Now that the fuss has died down, what was it all about, and will there ever be a Web 3.0?
Of course the danger of coining the phrase Web 2.0 which had vague and varying definitions, was that someone would come up with 3.0 and 4.0 which would be equally unhelpful. In essence Web 2.0 was more about interactivity than any other single issue, and the introduction of social sites such as Myspace and Facebook have proved the point about interactivity being where the future of the web should be focused.
However, this does not mean that sites that do not have 'whizzy' embedded applications and scripts are not just as valid for gathering information and advertising services. Those sites that were relatively one-dimensional were made to feel that they did not belong to the internet, and that was where the snobbery came in.
The internet is nothing if not 'democratic' in the truest sense of the word, and there is room for all types of websites within the framework of the worldwide web. Despite the hype, Google does not care if your graphics are flat or if there are no moving images on your homepage, in fact SEO and perceived Web 2.0 aesthetic requirements could be actually diametrically opposed to each other in many cases. SEO is still basically about content and links - if you don't get those right, you may as well stay off the web altogether.

Making your blog more interesting

Right now Google gadgets is my favourite source for stuff to make your blog look interesting. They offer calendars, maps, games... a whole host of little scripts to brighten up your day.
http://www.google.com/ig/directory?synd=open&source=asnd_pub1 I saved this in my favourites, and suggest you do the same. Tip: If you want to get people to mark your page as a favourite or even a home page, you will need to have stuff that makes your page look current and interesting. I use things like 'picture of the day' and 'joke of the day' on my other blog, that way it looks like you have updated your site content even when you have not touched it for a few days...
The gadgets can be configured a little to your requirements and then you are offered the script which you can paste into your own page.
One niggle though, I tried the mapping gadget and couldn't get it to distinguish between two relatively UK postcodes, I suspect that it doesn't recognise complete postcodes, just the initial part.
If you like games, have a go at the google gadget at the bottom of this page.....!

What next?

Still in it's fedgling state, I intent to add some interest to the site in the next few days alongside investigating more paid to blog programmes.
The sister site to this blog can be accessed at http://www.livewyre.blogspot.com this site is intending to help people with setting up a website or a blog. I have utilised some google gadgets on my livewyre blog and intend to do something similar to this one. I believe that it is important for your blog to look interesting and current so that you might persuade visitors to come back and revisit you.