What is, or what might be, web 3.0?

None of this is new

Just like web 2.0 before it, primarily consists of a group of tools and mindsets that have been with us for years. Much of web 3.0 will consolidate and bring to fruition the promises of 2.0 that didn't quite seem to be realised.

So, is web 3.0 just hype?

It's a catchall for a group of technology, governance and attitudes

Technologies considered 3.0 (and some predictions)

• Semantic web: True write once, publish many: hamstrung until now by proprietary software, proliferation of XML schemas, and a lack of end-user tools.
• Metadata: Meaning and context within and between objects, new languages.
• Rich open data: Geotagging, eScience data for everyone
• Content anywhere, especially mobile
• Make your own software: bringing software and tool creation to the masses
• Two opposing ends: on demand anywhere (video, TV, radio, text), lightweight flexible architecture

Policies and goverance aspects of 3.0

• Ubiquitous Open Access
• Access to Knowledge (A2K) in the developing world
• Rejection of restrictive governance in the 2.0 era?

Seeds

We can see seeds of these technologies now... tagging, Library Thing, .mobi sites, Yahoo Pipes.

So, is Web 2.0 dead?

No, it's evolving.