---
title: "Web 2.0: Land of Opportunity, or Land of Absurdity?"
date: 2005-10-12
author: "Richard MacManus"
categories:
  - name: "ReadWriteWeb"
    url: "/category/readwriteweb.md"
tags:
  - name: "2005"
    url: "/tag/2005.md"
---

# Web 2.0: Land of Opportunity, or Land of Absurdity?

I’m sensing a backlash about the rising VC interest in Web 2.0. [Mike Rundle takes aim](https://web.archive.org/web/20060116023337/http://businesslogs.com/technology/flock_and_web_20_the_leaning_tower_of_buzz.php) at Flock in his post subtitled “The Leaning Tower of Buzz”. He thinks Flock is only useful to the blog crowd and doesn’t have a viable business model. Bart from Flock disagrees, saying in the comments that they do have a plan to make money and the market will decide. Then I went and read Kevin Burton’s post, entitled [Dot Bomb All Over Again?](https://web.archive.org/web/20060116023337/http://feedblog.org/2005/10/dot_bomb_all_ov.html). Kevin blames “tech reliance on Venture Capital” for what he thinks is too much hype and too little value. [Om Malik](https://web.archive.org/web/20060116023337/http://gigaom.com/2005/10/07/youtube-gets-sequoias-cash/) specifically references [YouTube](https://web.archive.org/web/20060116023337/http://www.youtube.com/), a video-sharing service that got $5 million in funding, and says the “Web 2.0 funding frenzy is in full effect.”

[Ben Barren](https://web.archive.org/web/20060116023337/http://benbarren.blogspot.com/2005/10/please-buy-me-gemaya-goog-ebay-msn-etc.html) (in between subtle mocking of my paper-based [millionaire](https://web.archive.org/web/20060116023337/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/002877.php) status) calls all of this an “emerging land of absurdity where a live prototype that can be replicated in 90 days, that has no business model or revenue is considered a business.”

So what’s my opinion on all this? Well I’m right in the middle of Silicon Valley as I write this post. I’ve had a great time over here and I’ve felt lots of energy and enthusiasm from all the Web people I’ve met here. I’ve seen a Flock employee sleeping on the floor of the garage-office Flock occupies in Palo Alto, in mid-afternoon, due to overwork no doubt. People are putting in a lot of effort to build new Web-based businesses. It’s OK to be slightly skeptical about the long-term value, but I have to say I still think it’s a land of opportunity rather than absurdity. Admittedly I’m a pretty naive person when it comes down to it – or maybe just happy (as the Nirvana song goes).

OK so there’s a lot of hype. So the VCs are throwing money around. So get to work. Build something Web-based that mainstream people will need and want. Now’s the time to do it.

*Originally published on ReadWriteWeb ([archived copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20020204040018/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/web_20_land_of.php))*