The term 'Web 2.0' refers to the idea of the "New Internet", or the second wave of the World Wide Web. Web 2.0 is not a specific application or technology, but explains two paradigm shifts within Information Technology, 'user-generated content' and 'thin client computing'.

User-generated content refers to social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and YouTube, blogs, vlogs and any web application that enables users to create elaborate, personal web pages without any prior technical programming knowledge. User-generated content of Web 2.0 is changing the way we use the Internet. Users have transformed the World Wide Web into a pool of knowledge and news that is created and reported on by ‘citizen journalists’. Web 2.0 is radically changing journalism, creating new opportunities on the Internet and enhancing globalization at a pace faster than critics can comprehend. A major point of interest with Web 2.0 is the equalization on a mass scale between user, client and big corporations.

Thin Client Computing refers to data and applications that are housed on a web server, providing the user with universal access to information from any computer. Although not a new concept for the World Wide Web, thin client computing has the potential to revolutionize the Internet into one giant application server for all users.

Web 2.0 also refers to the application that creates information to seek out the user and provide him with specific and pointed information. Algorithms are employed to direct this information based on the user's profile and browsing history.