Category: Web 2.0

It’s not been announced publicly, but I’ve joined the 2web crew. Nik emailed me last week with an invite and it got totally buried in amongst the 5 million other emails. For those of you interested:

2web is a group of Australian bloggers and entrepreneurs who are passionate about web 2.0. What we all have in common is that through our businesses and blogging we develop, implement and evangelise web 2.0 ideas around web services, open standards, new media, blogs and the web as a platform.

It’s pretty similar to an Australian version of the Web 2.0 working group. I don’t know all the guys in it well, although I do know some (and of course Darren is one of the 9 initial members as well), but it should be good, certainly if the email list and podcasts are anything to go by, and the coming together of some diverse people from around Australia, with different business plans and operations, all working to the same goal, and I’d add uniquely all working from home chasing the Web 2.0 dream (no part timers in this crowd) makes for an interesting bunch of people.

Is Jason Calacanis to leave the helm of Weblogs Inc., to head up a Web 2.0 version of Netscape that looks and smells like Digg?
Paid Content seems to think so:

The storied Netscape.com will be revived again by AOL, and will relaunch soon as a Digg-like user-driven news/aggregation site with Jason Calacanis at the helm, sources have told paidContent.org. Some Netscape-Calacanis rumors first surfaced on SV gossip site Valleywag.
The original Netscape division has been more than decimated over the last few years and layoffs have been almost routine these last few months. The new Netscape.com will be headed by Calacanis, who came in through AOL’s acquisition of Weblogs Inc. Not clear what role Weblogs, Inc.’s blogs would play but both divisions would report in Calacanis, according to the sources. He already reports to Jim Bankoff, executive VP of Programming & Products, who would also oversee the Netscape.com changes.

It will be interesting to see how a nearly dead Web 1.0 brand, although one which in its day was the web, can be revived as a Web 2.0 portal, particularly with Jason Calacanis at the helm. Calacanis was asking recently about customising browsers, so expect to see the Netscape Browser itself play a significant role in this, not just the Netscape.com portal.