MappingTheWeb //

Nearly four months ago, an anonymous blogger launched Dead 2.0, a blog aimed at ‘anti-hyping’ web 2.0. He/she assumed the alias “Web 2.0 Skeptic” or simply “Skeptic”. The blog instantly developed a cult-like following with droves of web 2.0 nay-sayers flocking to the site to read up on quirky, yet insightful posts.

The blog’s niche is focused around removing the hype and fluff from the new web and concentrating on actual business models, revenues, and long-term sustainability. The edgy and sometimes controversial commentary is highly entertaining and well sought-out.

Controversy erupted in the blogosphere as Skeptic ripped companies apart and expressed numerous criticisms, albeit backed by research and due diligence. The corporate world is not usually amused by the negative views. Nonetheless, this is the reason I love the world of blogs, as opposed to news sites and organizations. Inidividuals can express opinions and thoughts, without fear of company repercussions or the possibility of losing their job.

And the story continues… up until a few weeks ago…

As I check my RSS feeds on a daily basis, I noticed, or failed to notice new posts coming from Dead 2.0. I figured Skeptic may have taken some time off or got busy. A week passed and still no posts. Now, a couple weeks later, the blog has still not been updated. In addition, the site itself was down for a couple of weeks.

What was the cause of this site failure/outage? Some say Skeptic exceeded the hosting bandwidth limits due to excessive traffic, while others argue his/her employer found out about the ordeal and threatened sanctions.

There is now a graphical landing page that greets visitor, which reads: “We’ll be back”. I guess for now, we will just have to wait and see. I, for one, am hoping Skeptic makes a return to the blogosphere as I really enjoyed his/her posts.

There were rumours circulating that Skeptic’s identity had been discovered and traced back to a certain executive in the Valley, but these were never confirmed. Someone was threatening to expose the unknown blogger to the world. This never did end up happening, but it did cause a great deal of commotion.

I’ve spoken with Skeptic on GoogleTalk a few times, but he/she is very unwilling to reveal any background information, even age. Although I’m curious as to discover the identity of the mysterious blogger, a part of me wants the enigma to live on as we are all interested in the unknown.