Web 2.0 is a wonderful thing, even if no one can agree on what exactly it encompasses! For our purposes, we’ll define it as any site where user-generated content is the main idea behind the site. You’re allowed to post content in many different forms, such as blog posts, videos, audios, photos, comments and much more. Some Web 2.0 sites allow you to do more than others, and some of them have a lot of authority in the search engines’ eyes.

So, you think to yourself, “Why wouldn’t this be a perfect spot to launch my own business site? I mean, I could have it up in a couple of hours, it ranks well already, and I’ll be so in business!”

Hold on there, junior webmaster! Let me enlighten you about the vagaries of hosting your business site on Web 2.0 properties, and why you definitely don’t want to do so!

Back in the old days of Web 2.0, (about 2007) it was considered the Wild Web West. You could slap up a Squidoo lens, a HubPage, a Blogger blog, and before you could say spam site you’d be ranked and getting traffic. That was before EVERYONE discovered them. Soon, everyone and their outsourcers were ripping these sites off at a breakneck pace, and soon Google and the sites themselves began rethinking the deal.

Google stopped ranking them so highly. Squidoo instituted their own “slap”, and hundreds of Blogger blogs disappeared. What once was a thriving enterprise was now virtually gone. The game had changed.

Now these sites were starting to be used for what they were intended for, as social sites where user-generated content was the order of the day. This helped weed out the spammers, and in reality didn’t hamper smart marketers as much as you might think. They now used these sites and their authority to point links, generate leads, and create a following.

Which is exactly the way you need to be using them too. Squidoo, HubPages, Blogger and all the rest still have their place. You just don’t want to host your business there. If your particular niche or business runs afoul of what they want to do, you’re done, with little to no recourse. You’re not able to run scripts or other functions you might need, and God forbid if you get too busy, you might find your site curtailed. Remember, it’s their sandbox!

The thought of being smart and saving a few bucks on web hosting and putting up a blog or site of your own pales in comparison to the dread of having your business evaporate into cyberspace.

Don’t even think about it. If it’s your business, and let’s assume you want to be doing it for awhile, get quality web hosting, make your own site or blog, and don’t let yourself be put in the position of not being able to call your own shots. Web 2.0 is a terrific tool, but just be sure you’re using it for what it’s truly designed to do, and not to host your main business site!