RantOn: “Term” 2.0

A few months ago a friend told me a story where some dude kept referencing “Social 2.0″. This AM I saw a link that said “Health 2.0“. What’s next? Mobile 2.0, Your Body 2.0, television 2.0, etc… Where does it end? The person who coined the term “Web 2.0” is a marketing genius. That term has taken off. Not only has it torn the the internet and social media outlets, but it has begun to reach places such as the health industry.

I understand that the term itself sounds great. “We’re going to revolutionize this industry, lets tack a 2.0 on there! HURRAH!” The issue with this is the same response I had to the notion of YA2.0 (yet another 2.0). If you hadn’t guessed my response was irritation to the point of writing this post.

In case anyone is wondering, the term is played. Adding the 2.0 to the end of a term really doesn’t mean that you have a new version or that the revolution has come. It is just marketing. You still have to make people believe in your cause or whatever you are doing. But, when you use the term plus 2.0 you are now playing with a term that is _very_ weighted. And, if you are talking about a terms emergence or next steps in the technology realm or on the internet, then you are pretty much putting yourself at the bottom rung.

My recommendation is to hire a true marketing person and have them figure out a good term for you. If you are bent on doing it yourself, take a look at what Rohit Bhargava had to say in his talk: 10 Truths About Marketing to a Web 2.0 World.