Of all the "fads" on the internet, I'm the biggest fan of the web 2.0 look and feel, even as it becomes cliche.

There were some very smart design decisions behind the ideals of these elements. In many ways, they were the antithesis of what came before. We moved from crowded sites with flashing adbars to light, fast, breathable pages. Text got bigger and became more important. The occasional graphic element was big and colorful, often even shiny.

Web 2.0's look and feel was about more than just shine and reflection, but those things did help