Actually for me gmail wasn't really that related to Web 2.0. The main definition used is at http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is

Actually for me gmail wasn't really that related to Web 2.0. The main definition used is at http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/... The exception to 'social != $$$$' is of course Google's page rank algorithm which is essentially a social/collective intelligence system. The financial success of first Google then other companies is probably what motivate the term more than anything else. It is a shorthand way of saying 'The internet is not a financial failure. It's back and we it doesn't need all those MBA's who helped create the crash in the first place.'