Web 2.0: harnessing collective intelligence Web 2.0 is a loose collection of ‘second-generation’ web-based technologies and services designed to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users. Web 2.0 applications include blogs and wikis, as well as social networking sites such as twitter, YouTube and Facebook that encourage user-generated content. Web 2.0 is not about centralized control and static web pages; rather, it sees users as co-developers and co-creators. Tim O’Reilly, founder of O’Reilly Media, believes that the real value of web 2.0 tools lies in their ability to harness the collective intelligence of many individuals, which is the driving force behind Wikipedia. Other applications include RSS (really simple syndication), which allows users to subscribe to a ‘feed’ from a website and automatically receive updates to its content.