I posed a question last night on LinkedIn to see how people felt about the state of popular Web design.

Currently, we’re on two projects which state in the requirements “MUST USE 2.0 LOOK AND FEEL”.

Oddly enough, that takes a small amount of discussion. As one response points out, “Web 2.0 is more than just a design trend, it’s a movement to put USERS in control of the information they consume, publish, and share on the web.” I agree.

2.0 (and wherever we are now) is about a lot of things, but that doesn’t always mean people do these things in a usable and thoughtful way. Take, for example, the workflow of a 2.0 mashup. Does it make a site usable just because you can show your Flickr, Facebook and YouTube widgets directly on the same screen? No, but it makes the environment more dynamic and could even give people an incentive to visit you on a regular basis.

I like where things are headed. I embrace change. I think design trends are a double-edged sword that have the potential to create wonderful and exciting environments, or, conversely, wreak havoc on a developer and a designer or a visitor as everyone tries to figure out what the goal is (if they stick around long enough to sort it out).

Our online identities should be unique AND follow a standard approach so that you don’t lose your brand image or voice while offering an interface that doesn’t have to be learned.

When a client asks you to “make it 2.0″, do as they say, but make it your 2.own.