ZDNet reports this morning that the VC community is actively funding startups that are focused on building out innovative Web 2.0 applications to ready for market place that seems to have insatiable appetite for new and cool web apps.
Some bloggers have even gone so far as to list the dream list of Web 2.0 applications. I pulled this list from TechCrunch:
- Better and Cheaper Online File Storage
- Blog/website Email Lists
- Portable Reputations
- Tailored Local Offers (via RSS)
- Facebook, in other countries
- Free Music
- Open Source Yellow Pages
- Podcast Transcriptions
- Decentralized Review Aggregation
- Build Something Cool with SSE
Beneath the covers of what I think are interesting ideas, you are probably not mistaken to spot a consistent core need in many these applications - integration of data. Web 2.0 not only presents a fresh opportunity to present more compelling interfaces with technologies such as AJAX, it also allows developers to think in terms of new architectures and how best to bring together the information they need for their application. XQuery's stands alone in its powerful query based integration abilities that allowing applications to pull together the information they need on the fly.
Remember also, that XQuery data sources can be XML documents, relational data stores, HTTP references or even EDI feeds. If you are interested in seeing how this might work, check out tour full Progress DataDirect portfolio.
For a more low-level explanation as to the integration, a few posts ago, I flagged a nice article which outlines many of the common needs that those who are build Web 2.0 applications will quickly understand the need for.