Latest and future web trends?

[MerchantOfDeath]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum. :)

I'm writing because I wanted to ask you what are, generally, the latest trends in web development.
Uhm... I'm actually asking this because I used to be a webmaster like 7 years ago. I understood most of CSS and JavaSript.
But got lost when I came back to see a whole new world filled with wikis, Youtubes, social networking websites and other stuff I wouldn't have imagined at that time.
Where should I start in order to understand the basic functionalities of all this "Web 2.0" phenomenon?

And when/what do you think will be the next great leap in web development?
Will it be useful to learn how to build something like Youtube or a Facebook/Myspace script from scratch?
Or will they become obsolete in the next future?

Thanks

[LeeU]

Actually "Web 2.0" has been around for years. It's just that the technology is being used now in different ways. "Web 2.0" is a marketing term created by the O'Reilly publishing company. It's hard to place some sort of line in time when the Web shifted to something new. It is always shifting and moving, advancing and regressing (depending upon who is doing what).

You don't need to build a YouTube. If you just goggle a bit, you can find some good blogs and you'll get a feel for what is happening. Generally, people will tell you what is happening based on their experience with what they are involved in right now.

BTW, welcome back ....

[MerchantOfDeath]

Thank You, Lee :)

I, see. Yes, it's ever-changing. Even while I was more actively involved, I remember there was something new every week. But now obviously everything appears to be shifting at a higher pace (and I probably notice this because I have less and less spare time).

I also read a few blogs but there are millions of them and I don't know where to start. Or where I can get a significant update in order to "survive".
For example, yesterday I explored a lot on AJAX, which I didn't know, despite knowing the basic technology involved. I was enthusiastic about it and thought of buying a book and learn a bit more about it, until I came across some blogs that said that it's still very young and faces many problems (SEO-incompatibility, speed, etc.) and will surely be outpaced by some other framework/technology in the near future.

What I'm asking is: are there any specific standards/frameworks that every good webmaster must be fluent at in order to create a (technologically, trend-wise) up-to-date website?

[drhowarddrfine]

First, Ajax is javascript. Don't sweat it.
are there any specific standards/frameworks that every good webmaster must be fluent at in order to create a (technologically, trend-wise) up-to-date website?HTML 4.01 strict. Then CSS. Then either javascript or a good web-type language, such as Python or Ruby. Let us know when you've gotten that far.