In today's world we define web 2.0 as new ways to use World Wide Web technology so that users can more easily share information, as well as be more creative within a social network setting. This web 2.0 definition includes web-based communities, hosting services, wikis, blogs, and video sharing and social networking sites. If you want to increase revenues and business opportunities for yourself, create a Web 2.0 website and reap the rewards.

Here are some things to consider when planning to start a Web 2.0 website or company:

1. Find web 2.0 companies by using a web 2.0 directory to see web 2.0 examples.

2. Learn how to build your own web 2.0 website.

3. Get web 2.0 apps and create buttons for your web 2.0 website or company.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use a business directory for web 2.0 to find examples of Web 2.0 companies to work with

B2B means business to business, so using a B2B web 2.0 directory to see listings of companies in your field as well as examples is a great way to get started creating your own web 2.0 company or website.

I recommend: Go to B2BToday.com to search through its listing of the best B2B sites and services available. Visit the WebMarket Central Blog to read its listing of the best B2B web 2.0 sites.

Learn how to create a web 2.0 website

Now that you've learned about all the capabilities of web 2.0 businesses, it's time for you to create your own company website so you can begin to share information and increase your business income.

I recommend: Go to Web Design from Scratch to use its step-by-step guide on how to build a web 2.0 website. After creating your web 2.0 website, you can personalize your site to fit your business needs. At top54u, learn about net 2.0 web config and codes that can give you the ability to read and write configuration files for your application. This is a bit technical for the novice, so you might want to consider working with someone to help you set up the right net 2.0 configuration files for your site.

Get web 2.0 apps to enhance your creative and social and business abilities

Once you've created your web 2.0 website, you can add things like apps (applications), calendars and buttons to personalize it and make your website uniquely your own, as well as one that will draw consumers and other businesses to it.

I recommend: Go to Listio to find a listing of web 2.0 apps that can help you do everything from increase your ability to share knowledge to add pictures to increase commerce to your web 2.0 site or company. HubPages offers links to various web 2.0 calendar services, and Pscloud has listings of places where you can create web 2.0 buttons for your website.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Since the possibilities for business ventures are limitless for web 2.0 companies, it would be best to determine what your primary business focus is before creating your website. This will save you time and money for initial set up fees for a web 2.0 business.

The term "Web 2.0" was first coined by O'Reilly & Associates to refer to the post-2001-dot-com-boom Web sites that seemed to be part of a new Web generation. Web 2.0 generally refers to sites that leverage collective intelligence and use the Web as a platform. Common hallmarks of Web 2.0 sites are social sharing of resources or media (social media), collaboration, tags (users add keywords to data such as links, creating a "folksonomy"), open user platforms, syndication (RSS), mix-and-match of content ("mashups"), content filtering, and useful user services provided such as bookmarking, photo storage, etc. which in aggregate create an interesting user zeitgeist.

Another aspect of Web 2.0 important to business is the "long tail", or the concept that by using inexpensive technology, it's easy to create a distribution channel where it makes sense to sell products that individually have low sales volume.

Do you want to have an informed opinion when you are at a business networking event or cocktail party and the term "Web 2.0" comes up? Are looking for inexpensive collaboration tools? Do you want to create a new Web site that provides services or sells products?

Here's how to be aware of what Web 2.0 is and the opportunities it provides:

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Become aware of the Web 2.0 big picture

The tech publisher O'Reilly coined the term Web 2.0 and held the first Web 2.0 conference in 2003. Hear about Web 2.0 straight from the horse's mouth.

I recommend: Read O'Reilly's definite article: What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterms and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software, or read more about how people define Web 2.0 on the O'Reilly radar blog. Consider attending the Web 2.0 conference to find out more about emerging business and technology developments that utilize the Web as a platform. Make sure to be aware of long-tail business opportunities that Web 2.0 allows.

Has Web 2.0 helped your business? Are you making use of long-tail business opportunities? Let us know by adding a comment.

Visit Web 2.0 lists to see the latest sites

The best way to understand what Web 2.0 is and how it can lead to opportunities for you is to look at a lot of Web 2.0 sites.

I recommend: Go to the Web 2.0 lists at AllThingsWeb2 or Go2Web20 to find new examples of Web 2.0 sites.

Have a Web 2.0 list to add? Add it as a comment.

Explore the most popular and successful Web 2.0 sites

Make sure you take the time to use some of the most popular Web 2.0 sites, so you gain an intuitive understanding of Web 2.0 power and potential.

I recommend: Visit the following Web 2.0 sites: flickr.com, 43things.com, del.icio.us, last.fm, popurls.com, youtube.com, librarything.com, wikipedia.org, upcoming.org, digg.com, newsvine.com, bloglines.com, technorati.com, zillow.com, jotspot.com, 30boxes.com, 37signals.com, writely.com, zimbra.com, jigsaw.com.

Have a great Web 2.0 site to add? Add it as a comment.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Think Web 2.0 is the cutting edge? Think again. After becoming a Web 2.0 expert, get ready to learn about Web 3.0 and the mainstreaming of virtual reality.