Friday 20 February 2009

Generation Web

It makes some academic sense to think of phases or generations, but I do like the sense of fluidity so perhaps (for me) the idea of Web 2.0 is a misnomer. Our expectations of the technologies, some directly, others indirectly connected to the Web changed long before 2.0. Computing and server power, enhanced sound and display output and user-interfaces, bandwidth and speed, have all contributed to or developed alongside a changing Web experience.

Incarnation I and II

So what’s Web 2.0? In order to understand this better, let’s step back and start with Web 1.0. In the beginning, there was no Web 1.0, it was just the Web. Many changes occurred even during this Web (1.0) stage, however, in a nutshell, Web 1.0 is/was about retrieval. Personal websites, hobby sites; simple management systems that included search, view and possibly download. A few enhancements here and there led to picture, sound and video opportunities, but imagine publishing to the web, so that later on someone else could have a look. This is Web 1.0 - viewing the web from a window.


Web 2.0 has a different set of values attached to it, specifically user participation. Blogging, wikis, social networking etc and increased opportunity to interact through message boards, open to publisher and reader(s) through content participation. The whole web experience lends itself to more opportunities to take part and be involved, to interact with content and step inside the web.

(R)Evolution

Web 3.0? Speculative at the moment, but already future projections of web possibilities exist … executable content … 3D spaces … intelligent applications … artificial intelligence …

2 comments:

  1. sharing was at the heart of "web 1.0" as much as it is a highlighted feature of 2.0.... the technology may have not been there to enable instantaneous sharing and the skill set required to publish may have prevented individuals from contributing, but, that's a technological/expertise issue rather than a social one (i think)

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  2. ... exactly, I agree ... sharing is at the core of the Web ...

    ... like I say in the opener to this blog, titles like "Web 2.0" suggests a rather abrupt change from it's predecessor ...

    ... I understand WHY we think of web development in phases, but my hunch is that there has been more fluid move towards user participation of the web through wikis, blogs etc. ...

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