Wondering how to describe social media and Web 2.0? Trying to figure out what happens next? Read Bruce Sterling's latest speech, "The Brief But Glorious Life of Web 2.0, and What Comes After."

My three favorite quotes:

Web 2.0 doesn't have a hard boundary, but rather, a gravitational core.

I really think it's the original sin of geekdom, a kind of geek thought-crime, to think that just because you yourself can think algorithmically, and impose some of that on a machine, that this is "intelligence." That is not intelligence. That is rules-based machine behavior. It's code being executed. It's a powerful thing, it's a beautiful thing, but to call that "intelligence" is dehumanizing. You should stop that. It does not make you look high-tech, advanced, and cool. It makes you look delusionary.

My mood is eager impatience.

Read Sterling's speech and then come back here for data to back up what you think about social networking sites, Twitter and status updating, gaming, online video, and Web 2.0 in general.