What is Web 2.0?
Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the
internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new
platform.”– Tim O’ Reilly.
It’s a simply improved version of the first world wide web, characterized specifically by the
change from static to dynamic or user-generated content and also the growth of social media.
Darcy DiNucci- an information architecture consultant, coined the term Web 2.0 in her
article “Fragmented Future”. The term was popularized by Tim O’Reilly and MediaLive
International in 2004.
Now-a-days, the way web users are getting information has drastically changed. Today, users
use content they are specifically interested in, often using Web 2.0 tools. The difference
shown below between some examples of Web 1.0 and 2.0 justifies why it’s time to move to
the new version.
Web 1.0 Web 2.0
Google AdSense
Double Click
Flickr
Ofoto
BitTorrent
Akamai
Napster
mp3.com
Wikipedia
Britannica Online
blogging
Personal websites
upcoming.org and EVDB
evite
serach engine optimization
domain name speculation
cost per click
page views
web services
screen scraping
participation
Web 1.0 Web 2.0
publishing wikis
content management systems tagging (“folksonmy”)
directories (taxonomy) syndication
stickiness
Advantages of Web 2.0:
Available at any time, any place.
Variety of media.
Ease of usage.
Learners can actively be involved in knowledge building.
Can create dynamic learning communities.
Everybody is the author and the editor, every edit that has been made can be tracked.
User friendly.
Updates in wiki are immediate and it offers more sources for researchers.
Provides real-time discussion.
Web 2.0 tools and their features:
It allows users to collectively classify and find dynamic information that flows two ways
between site owner and site user by means of evaluation, comments and reviews. Site users
can add content for others to see. Web 2.0 sites provide APIs to allow automated usage by
an app or mashup like it provides location metadata that can be processed by a simple
browser tool.
Technological Use of Web 2.0:
Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight and JavaScript are used as rich web technologies in
delivering web 2.0 in addition to Ajax, RSS and Eclipse. Its applications are based on the
reorganized download methodology that made BitTorrent so fruitful that each downloader of
content is also a server, sharing the workload and making the content more accessible.
It can be a powerful lure for an enterprise; with interactivity promising to fetch more employees
into daily contact at a lower cost. The use of these technologies and tools aids greater
participation in projects and idea sharing, thus ideally leading to better thought out design and
more efficient production, strengthening bonds with customers and improving
communications with partners.
The future:
The business forecasters are all claiming that Web 2.0 is an intermediate phase between the
World Wide Web’s existence and a more established phase they’re calling Web 3.0.
The web as a whole can be designed more intelligently around serving a user’s wants or
needs. The developers and authors, singly or in collaboration, can use self-descriptions or
similar techniques so that the information provided by the new context-aware program is
relevant to the user.
Web 1.0 Web 2.0 Web 3.0
Content Speedy Ubiquitous
more timely information and available at any time,
destination sites and more efficient tools to find anywhere, through any
personal portals information channel or device
Search
Collaborative Efficient
critical mass of content
actions of user a mass, police, relevant and contextual
drives need for search
and prioritize content information findable instantly
engines
Commerce Trust-worthy Individualized
goes mainstrean; digital user establish trust networks filtered and shared by friends
good rise and home trust radars or trust networks
Characteristics[edit]
Some design elements of a Web 1.0 site include:[14]
Static pages instead of dynamic HTML.[15]
Content served from the server's filesystem instead of a relational database management
system (RDBMS).
Pages built using Server Side Includes or Common Gateway Interface (CGI) instead of a web
application written in a dynamic programming language such as Perl, PHP, Python or Ruby.
The use of HTML 3.2-era elements such as frames and tables to position and align elements on
a page. These were often used in combination with spacer GIFs.[citation needed]
Proprietary HTML extensions, such as the <blink> and <marquee> tags, introduced during
the first browser war.
Online guestbooks.
GIF buttons, graphics (typically 88x31 pixels in size) promoting web browsers, operating
systems, text editors and various other products.
HTML forms sent via email. Support for server side scripting was rare on shared servers during
this period. To provide a feedback mechanism for web site visitors, mailto forms were used. A
user would fill in a form, and upon clicking the form's submit button, their email client would
launch and attempt to send an email containing the form's details. The popularity and
complications of the mailto protocol led browser developers to incorporate email clients into their
browsers.[16]
