Web 2.0 Is Making a Comeback

This expert opinion by the Young Entrepreneur Council was originally published on Inc.com.

Brett Farmiloe is the founder of Featured.com, a platform that connects subject matter experts with publishers.

Web 2.0 is having another moment. The sites and apps that defined a generation of the internet, like Digg, Help a Reporter Out (HARO), and TechCrunch, are being acquired, rebuilt, and revived. 

Why Is Web 2.0 Making A Comeback In The AI Era? 

As the founder of the company that recently acquired HARO from the PR software company, Cision, I’ve had a front row seat to this recent resurgence. The Web 2.0 comeback is less about nostalgia and more about what’s missing in today’s web. 

The Original Promise Of Web 2.0

Web 2.0 introduced a participatory internet. People generated content, interacted with one another, and built networks of knowledge. Digg democratized news. TechCrunch put a spotlight on startups and left the comments section open. HARO connected journalists with expert sources across the globe. 

At their core, these platforms provided access. Access to attention, information, and, most important, opportunity. By providing access, new pathways emerged for entrepreneurs, creators, and experts to grow and expand their reach. 

Why Web 2.0 Is Making A Comeback

It’s clear that something has changed in today’s algorithm-driven, AI era. As platforms like OpenAI stay a closed-loop network, access is still paramount and critical for progress. Too many founders are frustrated by gatekeepers. Creators feel invisible. Too many professionals feel that their credibility is equal or reduced to their follower count. 

That’s why Web 2.0 tools are coming back. Not because they’re retro and recognizable, but because there’s a growing need for meaningful connection and humanity online today. 

“The early web was fun,” Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian posted on X.com after buying back Digg with Kevin Rose, Digg’s original founder. “It was weird. It was community-driven. It’s time to rebuild that.” Here are three reasons for the revival of Web 2.0. 

Fatigue Of Closed Ecosystems

Tools like Digg and HARO were open by design. You could connect with anyone, and discover anything. There wasn’t an algorithm telling you whom to connect with, or what to read. It was entirely community-driven. 

Today’s tools reward content that keeps users on-platform to support advertising and subscription models. Creators and brands build audiences that they don’t own, and they devote time, money, and resources to play the game in exchange for attention.

In 2008, you could go from unknown to noteworthy because of what you had to say. In 2025, it’s what you say and how much you pay to boost it. 

Credibility, Not Virality

Virality is harder to trust in the age of AI. AI image models are rapidly progressing to the point that an average person can’t tell the difference between an AI-generated image and a stock photo. Videos featuring AI avatars are becoming more accurate, as are AI voices. That’s why trust and credibility will be at the core of the next web in the years ahead. The more trust that you have as a brand or a professional, the more your credibility will compound. 

Web 2.0 tools help people build credibility by contributing to the contribution, instead of looking to dominate it. That spirit is exactly what’s missing in today’s influencer-driven world, and it is exactly what the next generation of the web is poised to reclaim. 

Lots Of Noise, Little Insight

The explosion of AI-generated content and influencer-driven media has created an online environment full of noise. Words have never been generated at a faster pace. But this noise falls short on insight. The result? Knowledgeable professionals and subject matter experts are getting drowned out despite having valuable perspectives to share. 

In a world where everyone is publishing, the real opportunity is helping the right voices rise to the top. Fortunately, that’s where Web 2.0 shined in the past, with tools like HARO giving experts a direct line to the media.  

What Happens Next

This next chapter isn’t just about reviving nostalgic brands. It’s about reclaiming old values and reimagining them with better tech. The revival of tools like Digg, TechCrunch, and HARO is a reminder that credibility doesn’t need to be gamified. Access to attention doesn’t need to be so expensive. If you’ve earned it, it should be yours. 

Sometimes, moving forward means bringing the best of the past with you. And for Web 2.0, its best days might still be ahead.