Web 2.0 Shake-Up Inevitable?

MIT’s Technology Review has the latest take on the Web 2.0 fever. It offers a sober and rather skeptical evaluation of the start-ups' business models, which – if you believe the publication – aren’t all that great. As most Web 2.0 sites rely on nickel-and dime revenue from contextual advertising, some industry pundits contend that a shakeout is likely within the next 12 to 24 months: “The winnowing of Web 2.0 won't be as bloody as the dot-com crash of 2000-2001, though, simply because these companies never accepted much venture funding and have far fewer employees. What's more, the underlying technologies won't disappear -- more likely, failing companies will be bought up by slightly larger competitors in a wave of consolidation.”