I'd be very interest to see some of these articles, just to look back on, and reflect — because I've worked in tech since the 80s, and have been doing web stuff

I'd be very interest to see some of these articles, just to look back on, and reflect — because I've worked in tech since the 80s, and have been doing web stuff since well before Web 2.0 was even a phrase. Do you have any links please? — AFAICT Web 2.0 was initially about dynamic web pages (client-side dynamism mostly, i.e. the Javascript revolution) at a technical level. Then a short while later, on a social level, it was about more user-generated content. Combined with the improvements brought about by improved UI from the previous. Web 2.0 also somewhat encompasses e-commerce too, to a large degree (the dot-com boom was mostly all about e-commerce, and Web 2.0 came about in the midst of that, of course). I don't recall there being articles saying that customers/users didn't want these things. What I recall was kinda the opposite: folk did want improved UI (without round-tripping to the server every click), folk did want to be able to more easily share content they'd created, with their network of friends and the rest of the world. Folk did want to be able to buy things without going to a physical store. — But perhaps I just have poor recall? This is why I'd find it particularly interesting to read some articles that say Web 2.0 was solving problems that customers hadn't asked to be solved. Personally, I don't think Web 2.0 was destructive and pointless, as you claim. Could you expand on what you think was destructive and pointless about it? Perhaps we just have differing ideas as to what Web 2.0 is/was exactly.