As the popularity of social networking has skyrocketed over the last couple of years, the Internet of five years ago has indeed come and gone. Web 2.0 is now the talk of major Internet players and venture capitalists across the globe.

What is Web 2.0? It is the next generation of Internet interactivity and utility platforms. In a nutshell, Web 2.0 involves the facilitation of enhanced web user activities and experiences via systems that allow users to more easily interact, communicate, share information, learn and collaborate with one another.

Witness the huge success of Wikipedia, a free multi-lingual encyclopedia. Formed in January of 2001, Wikipedia has quickly become one of the most visited websites in the world with more than six million articles in 250 languages currently hosted. The premise of the founders of Wikipedia was simple: create a place where users from all over the world can write and edit articles and entries according to their area of expertise. In turn, content created by tens of thousands of subject matter experts is available to anyone in the world with an Internet connection.

Other wildly successful social networking and interactivity websites include MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Digg and StumbleUpon. To Internet companies around the world, it has become more than apparent that Internet users are embracing these platforms with great enthusiasm. The Internet is becoming more than just a place to find information: it is now a place to interact, communicate, learn and opine on a wide variety of subjects. Blogging is no longer the realm of the web futurists but a de facto part of doing business. Forums have popped up all over the Internet in order for members to share information, ask questions and even form relationships. And tens of thousands of singles willingly pay a monthly fee to network with potential love interests on sites like Match.com and Eharmony.com.

In regards to business applications of the social networking phenomenon, the industry is young and just getting started. Over the next five years, expect a wide range of new applications to spring up in industries of all shapes and sizes. The potential for knowledge and learning is enormous as are the possibilities for unprecedented business referral partnerships. The Internet, only in its first decade or so of popular use, is going to continue to evolve to meet the needs and desires of its hundreds of millions of users.

Jesse Chatham is the Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer for Dwela.com, a peer to peer, home industry networking and directory website. Realtors, mortgage lenders, general contractors and other home professionals are invited to join.