The term "Web 2.0" was coined in 2004 by O'Reilly Media and MediaLive International as a name for a series of web development conferences. Afterwards, the concept of Web 2.0 resonated with industry leaders and watchers and it quickly started to evolve into a series of ideas and strategies for more effectively designing next generation Web sites. To this day, there is a huge amount of disagreement about what Web 2.0 really means and whether the value it offers to businesses really justifies the hype around it.

In more simplistic terms, Web 2.0 is basically the blueprint for a new web development paradigm where:

The web is no longer a read-only media. Everyone, including visitors, is now encouraged to contribute (read-write)

Assembling content and features from popular web sites and applications provides a more inclusive experience

Lightweight business models and a new generation of development platforms allow for software to be delivered as a continually-updated service

Social networking and new types of targeted advertising tools make it possible to generate customers at a fraction of the cost prior to Web 2.0

Ivaylo Lenkov will discuss the adoption of web 2.0 technologies in the small business. He will start with the core principles of Web 2.0 and then will discuss which one of them are applicable for the small business. Few successful examples will be presented as well as some pitfalls. Ivaylo will also outline the main factors that should drive the adoption in Web 2.0 technologies as well as the timing for this adoption.