What is Web 2.0? (simplified)

What is web 2.0? It's a question that I've been asked many times in the past, and there is quite a lot of information about it on the Internet. If you want to skip my gibberish and check out some videos, skip to the bottom of the article and view the links provided. Technically web 2.0 is nothing new, it was a phrase that was coined by Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly publications. It is a combination of XHTML, XML, CSS, JavaScript, and Database engines. Really what is different about web 2.0 is the mind set when developing a web application. In "web 1.x" the creators of the web site added the content. They gave you what they thought you should read, view, or listen to; but the World Wide Web has taken a 180 degree turn. Many people know about web sites like MySpace, Facebook, Flicker, or YouTube. These are all sites that embody web 2.0. YouTube would be pretty boring with only your videos up there wouldn't it? The community is what drives web 2.0 web sites.

The simple answer to what is web 2.0 is You!