What is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 has become the most elastic word in current web trend. If you are aware what is Web 2.0, please ignore this post. The concept of Web 2.0 initially started with the brainstorming session conducted by O’Reilly and MediaLive International.

Everyday at least 2 or 3 companies are starting web sites coining new concepts under the category of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is the second generation of web trends after dotcom boom.

Most of the Web 2.0 sites are giving more democracy to the users. Unlike initial dot com sites where information is one way, Web 2.0 sites give the user a kind of collaborative sharing of data. If you look at digg, reddit, these sites are designed for the people. Another thing I like about Web 2.0 sites is user-friendly Interface.

One good example to differentiate between Web 2.0 and Web 1.0 is Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia. The content in Encyclopedia Britannica is controlled by a group of experts, whereas the content in Wikipedia is created and maintained by the people. Anyone can contribute to the content of Wikipeida.

The most important ingredient of Web 2.0 is Ajax. The concept of Ajax became so popular with the introduction of Google Maps. Ajax adds the flavor of interactiveness to the web sites. Other ingredients include RSS, XML syndication, feeds, XHTML and very enhanced UI like rounded edges and cool colors.

Web 2.0 applications enriches themselves from their users. These applications learn from their users using collaborative intelligence. Google is concentrating this area. They are trying to improve the search results based on the feedback and response from the searchers. Other interesting site is del-icio-us, an online bookmarks management and sharing application. We can take our internet books along with us and at the same time we share our bookmarks with others.

Tim O'Reilly gave a simple definition for Web 2.0: Harnessing collective intelligence. An excerpt from his speech,

YouTube, the video sharing site, and MySpace, the social networking site, have similar dynamics. The users not only provide the content, they provide the marketing. These sites have become hugely popular without spending a nickel on advertising, because they rely on word of mouth.

Now consider the alternative -- dot-bombs like the infamous pets.com. They treated the customer as a dumb consumer, and the web merely as a broadcast medium, with millions of dollars of Superbowl advertising substituting for customer enthusiasm.

But even more important than their enthusiasm, the users of successful internet applications supply their intelligence. A true Web 2.0 application is one that gets better the more people use it. Google gets smarter every time someone makes a link on the web. Google gets smarter every time someone makes a search. It gets smarter every time someone clicks on an ad. And it immediately acts on that information to improve the experience for everyone else.

Techcrunch is tracking the updates on this front and it post reviews on new Web 2.0 sites on their blog.

Related:
List of Web 2.0 Applications
Web 2.0 List

Category: Web 2.0