Stop throwing sheep. Do something!

		September 20, 2008

	Stop throwing sheep. Do something! Tim O'Reilly, who coined the term "Web 2.0," is known as a futurist, but his keynote address on Thursday morning at the Web 2.0 Expo in New York was heavy on the realism in the wake of sobering news from Wall Street. "You have to conclude," he said, "if you look at the focus of a lot of what you call 'Web 2.0,' the relentless focus on advertising-based consumer models, lightweight applications, we may be living in somewhat of a bubble, and I'm not talking about an investment bubble. (It's) a reality bubble." His advice: "You have to ask yourself, are we working on the right things?" Read Caroline McCarthy's report  Software conference breaks out at Web 2.0 Expo  All our Web 2.0 Expo coverage Rafe Needleman Editor, Webware.com New on Webware.com Present.ly is better than Yammer Posted by Rafe Needleman Twitter-for-the-enterprise startup Yammer is getting fresh competition from Present.ly, which offers many of the same features with security and controls that business IT people will like.  Read more  BillShrink simplifies credit card and mobile bills Posted by Dan Farber BillShrink.com recently launched a recommendation service that focuses on unpacking the complexity and cost of cell phone plans. The free service analyzes wireless phone bills and rate plans from the major carriers, and then monitors usage and makes recommendations for saving money. This week, BillShrink is adding credit cards to its service offering.  Read more  The future of search, powered by semantic engines Posted by Rafe Needleman Cognition and Eeggi both make "engines" that know about English word synonyms and how the same words in different orders can mean different things. What does this mean for the future of Web apps? Read about these new products.  Read more  Can SlideRocket kill PowerPoint? Posted by Charles Cooper Almost one year ago to the day, a start-up called SlideRocket began a private beta of its Web-based presentation creation service. With the company opening up its beta test this week, legions of frustrated PowerPoint users around the world must wonder whether their digital deliverance is not far away.  Read more  Zuckerberg: New Facebook design is for keeps Posted by Caroline McCarthy Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has caught on to the fact that a sizable handful of his 100-million-plus users aren't thrilled with the site's new redesign. But he won't change anything, as Facebook occasionally has in the face of user revolt.  Read more  More Web 2.0 redesigns Twitter gets new coat of paint Posted by Harrison Hoffman Updated tabs, a new design customizer, and Ajax work on the back end are the major features of this release.  Read more  FriendFeed gets new look, features Posted by Josh Lowensohn New look and feel at Friendfeed also includes support for photo hosting and better detection of duplicate items.  Read more    Related Newsletters Stay informed on the tech topics that matter to you most CNET offers a wide variety of newsletters on everything from tech industry news to the latest games and gear. Browse the entire list now. Manage newsletters More Webware  Webware RSS feed  The Webware 100  About Webware.com Sponsored Links
	Copyright 2008 CNET Networks, Inc. A CBS Company. All rights reserved. CNET Networks, Inc. 235 Second Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, U.S.A.