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Web 2.0 is a made up term that’s been rocketing around the Internet since made it’s debut launch from the O’Reilly show in 2004. You can’t go anywhere on-line without seeing this snappy little 2.0 fellow or his “long tail” on nearly every headline you read. The simple act of adding this guy to your headline seems to give off an almost magical impression of being in the know. Which would you click on first? Gardening tips & tricks or Gardening 2.0 ? See my point?

All rants aside, I believe there is an actual trend this term is describing and it is an overall positive movement. The shift that is occurring is toward community friendly apps, intensive information sharing and the “virtual availability” of goods. Web 2.0 heralds the end of an era and the beginning of new on line perceptions and expectations.

The top 3 expectations for 2.0 and what they mean for you.

If It’s for Free, Then It’s for me! _ Who doesn’t love the word free?As a consumers we have considerable power right now. The power to make companies bend over backwards to find, create and offer us stuff for free and we are growing to expect more and more free stuff from the Internet as a result.

It’s a fair trade really, you’re name and email for their cool free stuff! This idea of giving things away for free is called a loss leader and it’s as old as time. The idea is to give something small away in the hope you will be lead to buy something later.

I can find a free version of most things I want if I just do a little digging, so load up and enjoy! Here’s a few freebies I’ve enjoyed lately, feel free to post some of yours here too. I do love a bad pun

Open office (mimics excel, word etc, Yousendit (for large file transfers), Delicious (social bookmarking), wikipedia (online encyclopedia), and flicker (photo sharing).

Privacy, Spam and Spyware, Oh My!

Spam filters, spyware, Malware, and virus apps should be free!!! There’s that word again. I find most for profit apps, in this field, overrated if not downright dangerous and cumbersome to a system . No software is going to protect you from some new uber virus if some hacker is determined to prove a point in your inbox that day.

I personally don’t pay for any virus protection or spyware removers and I think most people that do are paranoid, besides if your using a router it’s a firewalled anyway. I use 3 free programs and they keep my computer clean and as tidy as it needs to be. If you still find yourself holding on to the security of the promises on that shiny Norton box, you may find relief in a 1 time 150$ purchase of a external drive, I recommend Seagate from Tiger Direct and the program Casper xp (about $50). This nifty little app allows you to take a snapshot of your PC and your programs and store it on a removable hard drive. Should you experience complete viral hell just plug in the drive and download. Voila, 10 min later it’s your old PC back on the screen just the way you left it! Download these programs now from filehippo and start free today! ccleaner, spybot search & destroy, AntiVir.

Speedier & easier information access - I want my Internet and I want it NOW! Patience is not a virtue in web 2.0. We want fast and we’ll pay for it. Even broadband isn’t fast enough anymore…enter Fios. And what’s up with free Wi-fi areas I just saw in wired mag? COOL! Check here to see if your stomping ground is on the list of, cities with a pulse 2.0! And If you happen to live in one of these cities would you mind verifying that you have free wireless? I’m checking up on the St. Petersburg, FL location this week.

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