Web 2.0 emerged as a deliberate rebranding strategy after the dot-com bust.

Evidence

While the dot-com bust seemingly decimated the San Francisco technology scene, it in fact only restructured it. The next iteration of Northern California technology excitement was precipitated by a strategic marketing ploy to leave “dot-com” behind and move forward. Web 2.0’s transformation from a buzzword to a scene was geographic; even post-boom, large numbers of people interested and inspired by technology remained in the Bay Area. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 146

Categorization

• DEFINE: Positions Web 2.0 not as a genuine technological advance but as a marketing rebrand of the same people and place — a key definitional correction for the field.
• SHARE: Good item for a tech-historian friend: Web 2.0 was a strategic PR move to shed the ‘dot-com’ taint, not a real paradigm shift.
• XREF: connects to: Web 2.0 was framed as a revolution distinct from the dotcom Web — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 50; Web 2.0 revived tech optimism after the dot-com crash dismantled it — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 54; Web 2.0 originated as a marketing term grounded in Bay Area labor history — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 61