I posted a variation of this thought on my Digital Common Sense blog over the weekend, but that was raelly driven by conversation undercurrents and some thoughts that are still developing.

Discussions of Cisco, Gartner, and some other things that aren't directly related have given me pause to think more about this over the weekend, losing sleep last night as some of it just wouldn't get out of my head.

There's a brass ring that many companies, large and small, are trying to grab right now. It's the undefined luster of 2.0 goodness. There's a perception that 2.0 equates to dollars. Web 2.0...Voice 2.0, whatever.

Unfortunately, down in the dark underbelly of 2.0 there is also a steady stream of snake oil salesmen rallying around the " I do 2.0 too meme of the year in an effort to catch some momentum.

 

I hate to toss the caveat emptor blanket over everything going on, but I do feel some need to comment. Web 2.0 became a huge marketing hype. It turned into a tool for marketing and PR firms to latch onto rapidly evolving conversations in an effort to bring their client offerings into view. But the roots of Web 2.0 were about the conversation. The real Web 2.0 was about more blogs and wikis, openness, and discussion. Web 2.0, at its roots, was abotu being engaged.

Voice 2.0 really can't be equated to Web 2.0, Alec Saunders from iotum probably best defined Voice 2.0. You can read Alec's posts at Simply Relevant: Voice 2.0: A Manifesto for the Future),  Voice 2.0 -- Alec Saunders .LOG and Comments on: Voice 2.0 A Year Later for the real scoop. Fitting that Alec should write the manifesto since he and the iotum team are defining it as they go.

Voice 2.0 is, in Alec's words, a "titanic clash between the internet and the telecommunications industry. My hope is that clash will be the, albeit painful, evolution of Voice into a full blow internet application."

Whereas Web 2.0 is about conversation, openness and sharing information, Voice 2.0 is about bringing real change to the industry. And when momentous change is afoot, the door is open for snake oil salesmen and charlatans to make false claims about their solutions. And they may not know they're false. Too many solution providers believe their own marketing and don't really understand where they fit in the grander scheme.

It's a good time to read closely, evaluate carefully and distinguish between Web 2.0 talk, Voice 2.0 solutions and Snake Oil 2.0 hype.

See also

Web 2.0lier than thou 
—  Jaron Lanier recently called the Web 2.0 movement "digital maoism."  Now, as if on cue, the Cultural Revolution has begun.  —  Lawrence Lessig, in a post titled "The Ethics of Web 2.0," suggests that some Web 2.0 companies are not fit to wear the Web 2.0 label.