Web 2.0 is a popular term on the internet now and a lot of people have heard about that. Wikipedia knows about Web 2.0: the phrase Web 2.0 can refer to a trend in web design and development — a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services (such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies) which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing between users. That’s right. I like when sites which made referring to the Web 2.0 ideology also have nice/light design.

Does Web-site design is required for most free web 2.0 services ?

I don’t think so. Design should be additional part to users-generated content and help site visitors to find what they need, but not more. I found couple free online dating services which are very and very popular (according to different rankings) and they don’t really have any design as other web 2.0 designers usually imagine. The sites - I am free tonight and Plenty of fish. Am I right, when I say that the main success factor on ANY site is an asking IDEA (idea, which is asking by many people). If site has an idea, it have a chance to be a popular, otherwise, no idea - site will stay after many other sites in a row. Even content is not first priority success factor of the site.