Do I Need Web 2.0?

The much-ballyhooed set of tools known as Web 2.0 is the source of some controversy, with one camp, including Internet pioneer Tim Berners-Lee, insisting that these products and services are no watershed, they've been around in some form all along, while the other side touts a sea change in how Web users can interact. Regardless of which camp is right, all agree that these tools, allowing simple and efficient content creation and sharing, are a critical part of the Internet's utility.

With the rise in popularity and concurrent interface improvements of blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, social networking sites and the like, teams can collaborate, share information and keep up to date with each other easier than ever before. Keeping on top of Web 2.0 technologies will streamline your team's communication, idea generation, knowledge sharing and even time management. Spread out over the next few weeks, I'd like to touch on some of the more useful tools that fall under this moniker, from the lesser known ones like folksonomies and social bookmarking to the more ubiquitous -- though still underappreciated and underutilized â€" like the first tool we'll cover, the blog.