"You have to build a company based on a new kind of product (or service -- I am using the terms interchangeably) and you have to take that product to a market.
It frankly doesn't really matter which trends, or design patterns, you incorporate into your product.
If the product is compelling to the market, it will succeed.
If the product is not compelling to the market, it will fail.
It's not much more complicated than that.
The hard part is creating that new and compelling product."

--Marc Andressen, blogging about why he feels that Web 2.0 is a meaningless term and why the basic truths of product development still hold fast.

But then check out--

"...so just because the definition of web 2.0 is fuzzy or inexact, doesn't mean it's not a relevant shorthand description for something.
to wit:-

• web 2.0 is about rich client-side applications (aka ajax, flash, etc)


• web 2.0 is about tagging & ratings & voting (aka Flickr, Loomia, etc)


• web 2.0 is about user participation & user-generated content (aka Digg)
• web 2.0 is about APIs, RSS, and web services (aka Amazon, Google, Yahoo, eBay, etc)


• web 2.0 is about mashups & remixing content (aka HousingMaps, ChicagoCrime, etc)-


• web 2.0 is about web 2.0"