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For several years now the buzz around the Net has been about Web 2.0. It seems that all you have to do is label the latest application you wrote as Web 2.0 and people want to throw money at you.

I loved the hype about Web 2.0, it was going to make life so much easier for everyone. The ordinary surfers would finally have some input into what was going on around the Net - and all that really happened was that Nirvana arrived for the trolls. Marketing would become so much easier and everyone would be able to make their fortunes. Even in adult ... a relatively slow adopter of things Web 2.0 ... life was going to be so much easier and everyone would make a killing if only they used blogs and all the latest Web 2.0 gizmos.

On and off, in my writings around the Web, I've grumbled that Web 2.0 is basically an illusion and it's not the wonderful thing everyone else is touting it to be. Not only do I see it as an illusion but chasing that illusion is going to deflect many Webmasters from the marketing that really will make them money. At the same time it's going to be a siren's song for newbies who are going to try and fail miserably.

There haven't been many of us who have been prepared to suggest that Web 2.0 isn't all it's cracked up to be and those of us who have been prepared to speak up haven't had much effect. Sure we've been listened to politely enough but I get the feeling that most people seem to think that what we've had to say has been more indicative of the onset of early senility than anything that's really important.

So few Webmasters pay any attention to what we have to say. The promise that so many others make of streets paved in gold is just too attractive for newbies and more experienced Webmasters to ignore. They don't even listen to the cries for help that have begun to surface with some regularity from Webmasters who are trying Web 2.0 techniques and finding little if any success.

You only have to look around some of the major message boards and you will begin to see that there are people out there who just aren't succeeding even though they're trying all the Web 2.0 stuff. The promised increases in sales just isn't happening for them and the chances are that for every one who complains on a Webmaster board there are many more who are just struggling in silence.

So why are so many people struggling to make a dollar using Web 2.0 techniques while others are making money?

The secret is that Web 2.0 changed nothing when it comes to making sales. Sure it gave idiots a voice and unleashed the trolls but when it comes to marketing it changed nothing. The people who are making money using blogs and other Web 2.0 techniques are those who know - and have always known - how to market their products.

These are the guys who were able to make money before Web 2.0 was even dreamed of and these are the guys who will go on making money long after Web 2.0 has burst its bubble and is all but forgotten.

That's the secret ... if you didn't know how to make money before Web 2.0 came along then you still don't know how to make money and Web 2.0 isn't going to make life any easier for you. If anything Web 2.0 is going to make it even harder for newbies to make money because now that the trolls have more of a voice they're going to be out there making life hard for as many people as they can and that includes marketers.

Try selling a great product in the face of never-ending criticism from some retarded troll who is never going to go away and you'll see what I mean. It takes a very talented marketer to overcome hindrances like that and there aren't many newbies who have a natural talent for marketing.

So if you're new to marketing adult products ... or if you've been around for a while and still not making the grade even though you're running blogs and all the other Web 2.0 junk then perhaps it's time you went back to the basics and spent time learning how to effectively market your products. That really is the only way you're going to succeed.

Sure you may read of some great success stories on various boards about guys who have made a fortune from blogs but don't be fooled. Those guys would have made money from any form of marketing because they know how to sell a product. You too can have the same level of success but first you have to understand the basics of how to sell.

So go away and learn them and then come back to Web 2.0 ... it'll still be here even if someone has changed its name because they've given it another quick paint job.