Poking Fun At All The Web 2.0 B.S.

While we at Profy try to keep things as clean and all-members-of-the-family-friendly as possible in our coverage and analysis, we do come across topics on occasion that we have trouble vetting for vulgarities. Especially when a product or creation in and of itself carries with it some non-child-compatible language. So just as a warning, our foul-language firewall will be put into temporary retirement for this piece.

Web 2.0, as you all know quite well already, is a world of awesome. AJAX, for one, is a very cool invention. No denying that. Whoever first put the J and the X together, props to ya. And thanks to high-speed broadband services, we get to enjoy video – and sometimes high-quality video, at that – right on our desktops and laptops. No more solitaire (though if you’re still into that, power to you, friend) on your work break. You now get to watch pro-Britney douchebags cry rivers and pit bulls ride skateboards on your downtime. It’s a wonderful new land of possibility, Web 2.0 is, eh?

Absolutely. But it’s got its negatives. It’s cons (whether a pun’s intended is really up to you to decide), if you will. For one, there’s the bullshit factor. Yep, the bullshit factor.

While there’ve been plenty of advancements in the realm of Web technologies in the last few years, there’ve been some frustrating byproducts to come out of the woodwork as well.

There’s the ever-expanding lexicon of meaningless tech/business-speak that can certainly grind one’s gears sometimes. (Yes, I pilfered “grind your gears” from Pete Griffin. I couldn’t resist.) And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

So in the tradition of, well, comedy, I suppose, here are some enjoyable finds that I think do a nice job of poking fun of this here Bubble 2.0 we’ve created and now live within.

“The Web 2.0 B.S. Generator,” as it’s called, put together by Rob Beschizza at Wired.com, is a kind of digital copywriter. It dishes out mock press releases filled with all sorts of garbage – ahem, jargon – for enjoyment by folks that, you know, read press releases with regularity. Which is like…everyone, right? No? Just folks like myself? Alrighty. Well, if you’ve got anything of a sense of humor, you’ll likely find it at least slightly amusing.

Bullshitr, a simple click-the-button-to-get-see-some-Web-2.0-bullshit, is a nifty piece of kit too, and is best operated quickly and repeatedly. You really get the full effect of Bullshitr when you’re “making bullshit” at a fast rate.

And, last but not least, there’s the superb Web 2.0 Name Generator, complete with large, easy-to-read fonts, very distinguishable hues, and a column to fill with all sorts of Web 2.0-compatible company names.

You know, I gotta tell ya, if you hit that ‘Generate Name!’ button about a dozen or so times, I dare say you’ll find something come up that you might just find getting LLC-ed or incorporated in months ahead. Seriously. Which is pretty hilarious, actually.

Ah, Web 2.0. It’s a wonderful thing, it is. And what a joy it is to take a step back from it all sometimes and find some funny.

Enjoy, folks.