Living in Web 2.0

There has been buzz around the phrase Web 2.0 for some time now. First coined by Tim O'Reilly in 2004, O'Reilly describes Web 2.0 as this:

“Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform (1).

So, what does that mean for most of us. For me, I love finding applications that I can use online, instead of having to download them. For one, web apps seem to run better and not slow down my computer. Also, I can access them from anywhere - I am not limited to one computer.

Another great thing about web apps is that I don't have to install updates or backup my data. The downside is that most do not work without an internet connection (some do have offline options). Also, depending on the browser there are limitations (people should not program sites to only work in IE!). Despite any drawbacks, I still love new web apps. Here are a few I have used lately:

www.mailchimp.com
www.surveymonkey.com
www.box.net
www.turbotax.com - so easy!
www.youversion.com
www.google.com/apps/
www.acrobat.com/

Finally, here is a cool site that keeps up with some of the Web 2.0 sites: www.go2web20.net/

What web applications make your life easier?