As an update to all this, here's verbatim text of Bruce's presentation:
What Bruce Sterling Actually Said About Web 2.0 at Webstock...
So I think the title for this article is a great headline, but not accurate :)
The title for Bruce's presentation was "The Short but Glorious Life of Web 2.0, And What Comes Afterward" - it was more in the nature of a eulogy than a hate. It was also very nuanced and will repay listening to again. [Note: full video and audio of Webstock presentations, including Annalee's(!), will be available on the site within the next few weeks.]
Another of the Webstock presentations, by Nat Torkington, was about failing. Failing well and learning from it. I had the distinct impression Bruce thought well of the intent and effort of Web 2.0, and one of his points was that if it fails, it clears the way for what comes next. Incidentally, he talked about a "transition web" coming next, before the "internet of things".
What seemed to me his warning: that we take at our peril the solidity of Web 2.0. Just as we've taken at our peril the solidity of the global banking system. The "black hole of finance" is at the heart of Web 2.0, and as that fails, it will pull a lot (most?) of what we've built down with it. In one of his (many) great lines, "It's turtles all the way down!" An example he gave - Amazon is built on "user contributions". If push comes to shove and falling profits and shareholder cries demand action, what hope the safeguarding of user interests, contributions and data?
I think this was an important speech.
