Over the last two years I have seen a new kind of web applications come into the marketplace. I am talking about applications like:
Flicker - http://www.flickr.com/
Wikipedia - http://www.wikipedia.org/
Memepool - http://memepool.com/
del.icio.us - http://del.icio.us/
Google maps - http://maps.google.com
For one they all have a new approach to data, the folksonomy approach. However, on the larger picture they are becoming platforms. The latest one is:
Evdb - http://evdb.com/
Evdb is the event and venues database. The application lets you input and consume your events data. The data is then made available in iCalendar, Rss, and other formats so you can present the data through your own front-end. In addition, you can search through all the events and venues.
As I look at these I am wondering if we are seeing a new era in software. I am wondering if the new era of computing that Oreilly (http://ipost.com/rd/9z1zhj0j2eeaenhke500v61ms7ndg29260kkjfofcno) has pitched is here.