Web 2.0 Heroes: Interviews with 20 Web 2.0 Influencers (Hardcover)

~ Bradley L. Jones (Author)
Key Phrases: linked data, offline functionality, social graph, Semantic Web, Open Source, Dorion Carroll (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Web 2.0 may be an elusive concept, but one thing is certain: using the Web as merely a means of retrieving and displaying information is history. Todays Web is immediate, interactive, innovative. It is user-controlled and community-driven. Organizations, marketers, application developers, and communicators must be ready to respond and to innovate or be left behind, and the experts featured on these pages are leading the charge. Their ideas are fresh, sometimes experimental, necessarily flexible, and always on the leading edge to prepare you for a Web where users rule.

From the Inside Flap

Is it technology? Is it philosophy? Or is it simply marketing hype? Web 2.0 is a concept so fluid that even the experts in this book don't agree on what it means. Some feel that no definition is even necessary. But most agree on one thing: Web 2.0 is a sweeping tide that's changing the face of the Internet.

Web 2.0 is not about mass marketing. It's about actually understanding the masses. And it's not about controlling the message. It's about engaging the audience and actually hearing what they have to say. It's about enabling creativity, realizing a culture of contribution, and putting the user in control.

Here is a rich smorgasbord of unique viewpoints — from bloggers, social networking developers, corporate communicators, online strategists, distinguished engineers, and others. These are the people who are shaping today's Web. What they have to say can help you shape your organization's future.

The Impact Makers

• Max Mancini eBay

• Alan Meckler Internet.com

• Eric Engleman Bloglines

• Gina Bianchini Ning

• Dorion Carroll Technorati

• Raju Vegesna Zoho

• Richard MacManus Read/Write Web & Web 2.0 WorkGroup

• TJ Kang ThinkFree

• Patrick Crane LinkedIn

• Shaun Walker DotNetNuke

• Biz Stone Twitter

• Seth Steinberg Meebo

• Joshua Schachter Del.icio.us

• Ranjith Kumaran YouSendIt

• Garrett Camp StumbleUpon

• Rodrigo Madanes Skype

• Rod Smith IBM Corporation

• Tim Harris Microsoft Corporation

• Bob Brewin & Tim Bray Sun Microsystems

• Michele Turner Adobe Corporation

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 273 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (April 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470241993
• ISBN-13: 978-0470241998
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #345,081 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars solid / ok, August 6, 2008

By	Franco Arda (London UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

you get what's on the cover; 20 interviews with Web 2.0 influencers. as with many interview books, some interviews are more/less appealing to the reader. what is crucial is that at least some should be worth reading and useful. to me, the book succeeds mostly. i found the following interviews particularly interesting; Alan Meckler (internet.com). a lot to learn from somebody who's been in the publishing business since 1969. as to expected from a veteran, he has some challanging statements like `99% of all Web 2.0 properties will never make a diem`. Gina Bianchi (ning.com) was another great interview which sparked lots of enthusiasm for the social network supported by numbers.

a good and solid read - unfortunately far from a must Web 2.0 book

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now I'm Interested in Web 2.0, November 6, 2008

By	Kenneth Hess (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book but after I did, it was hard to put down. I kept going back to it to find out how another person felt about Web 2.0 or the future of Web 2.0. After reading the book, I also started searching for Web 2.0 development tools--a more difficult task than I originally thought. Oh, they exist but what I found was that there is no specific Web 2.0 development tool--it's really a set of concepts not code snippets.
What I also found out is that the 20 most influential people in the industry don't really agree on what Web 2.0 is or will be--though most defer to a common definition (I don't want to spoil it for you). I was intrigued by the fact that the movers and shakers in this field all have different perspectives of what Web 2.0 really is and is not.

My favorite part of the book is the way Mr. Jones interviewed these different people. It would have been easier to just ask everyone the same 10 questions but he didn't do that. He allowed each interview to evolve but with the common theme of "What is Web 2.0." Each interview is different--and I found myself skipping all over the place to find out what Alan Meckler(Internet.com) said and then wanting to compare that to Patrick Crane's(LinkedIn) opinion. I felt bad about my ADD-like treatment of the book and not reading from start to finish but in a haphazard manner--I felt so guilty in fact, that I emailed the author and confessed my sin. To my surprise, he advocated the action--stating that it is a great way to read the book.

My favorite quote from the book? TJ Kang (ThinkFree) "I don't think there's any one, correct definition of Web 2.0." After reading the book, I'd have to agree.

I highly recommend this book if you want to know what the thought leaders in the business think of Web 2.0, the direction of the web, and web-based business in general.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just Web 2.0, May 25, 2008

By	Bradley Jones (Fishers, IN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Web 2.0 Heroes presents you with insights from leading companies and sites. Each chapter focuses on an interview with a different person from leading companies and Web sites. You can see the list of such companies and people above. In most cases the interviewee is a person closely related to the internet and/or overall strategy for the company. As such, you may not have heard the person's name, but you will have likely seen their impact.

When you read this book, you will learn the perspectives and insights from these leaders - these heroes. You'll discover what they consider Web 2.0 to be, what insights they've learned trying to address Web 2.0, and you'll learn what they consider to be the hype versus reality. You might be surprised to find what `highly Web 2.0' site hero considers Web 2.0 to be complete hype!

Web 2.0 Heroes goes way beyond just Web 2.0. These heroes are also asked about other key topics that might be impacting you. This includes giving insights on Software as a Service (SaaS) and Software plus Services (S+S). These topics often come up around discussions of Web sites, so you'll discover their thought s on what the impact of these are. You'll also learn about Web 3.0 and the Semantic Web. This topic is often considered academic, so it is interesting to see what the people on the front lines of Web development think of the topic. You'll get these front-line perspectives from Web 2.0 Heroes.

One of the most interesting things you'll learn from the heroes is the answer to the question "What's next?" There are a few themes as to what the heroes believe to be next. There are also a few interesting insights.

This book is not your typical droning of facts and figures. Rather, it is a casual read that puts you in front of the heroes and gives you their insights. The chapters are based on verbal interviews, so you get some of the `off the cuff' perspectives that most books and written interviews don't provide. As such, there are a lot of comments made that you are not likely to find in other books!

Let me also state that I'm the guy who was given authorship credit on this book. In truth, the authorship is shared with those that I interviewed. It is their words that make up most of the book. It is their words that you will find interesting.

If you read the book, then I'd like to ask you to tell us your favorite quote from one of the people interviewed. Post it here. I think you might find it hard to narrow it down to just one!