Hot technologies like blogs, mashups, YouTube, Flickr, and social networking are among the most notable of new Internet technologies that are collectively known as Web 2.0. These technologies offer nearly limitless possibilities for entertainment, business, communication — and even city-building. And although planning's ultimate goals will always reside in the real world, planners are harnessing this new virtual world in a variety of innovative ways.
Computer animation, GIS software, and other types of mapping and design software are already well on their way to replacing maps and blueprints. But unlike these technologies, Web 2.0 tools can be manipulated using only a web browser, and they are usually free of charge.
Creativity and connectivity are the most important elements of Web 2.0 technologies, not just among programmers and website designers, but among users themselves. Embodied by such high-profile sites as YouTube, MySpace, and Google, Web 2.0 envisions the Internet as a "participatory web" with applications that allow users to create and publish their own content. This means that planners can simultaneously craft and disseminate messages that were unthinkable or inaccessible even a few years ago, and others can often join a discussion in real time.
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