Welcome to Web 1.1

The World of Web 2.0

Web 2.0. Its a phrase thats thrown around a lot, sometimes without much meaning. Some say its describing a new age of internet, while others say its nothing more than a buzzword or a fad. This page will discuss a little of what Web 2.0 is and is not.

What is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 has many different aspects to it. Things like blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, and social bookmarking are some technologies that make up Web 2.0. Currently there is no definition for Web 2.0, but Tim O'Reilly made an attempt to define it in a conference. He broke it down into different themes that included:

The web as a platform
Network effects created by an architecture of participation
An end to the software adoption cycle
Data as a driving force

O'Reilly also broke it down into a heirarchy of Web 2.0 ness.

Level 3 - These applications are the most Web 2.0 oriented. They derive their effectivness from the inter-human connections and from the network effects that Web 2.0 make possible. Examples would include E-Bay, Craigslist, Wikipedia, and del.icio.us.
Level 2 - These can operate offline, but gain several advantages by going online. An example would be Flickr.
Level 1 - Are available offline, but gain a few advantages by going online. Examples would include Writely and iTunes (because of music store portion)
Level 0 - These applications work as well offline. These include MapQuest, Yahoo and Google Maps, and non web applications like instant messaging.

The biggest thing to remember about all this is Web 2.0 is all about participation. The more people that participate, the more Web 2.0 works.

Where can I find Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 can be found all across the internet. Most of you probably use it all the time and may or may not even know it. Facebook, the popular social networking site is a good example of Web 2.0. Any site where you make the information is Web 2.0. Here is a site that is a directory to over 1200 Web 2.0 sites

http://web2.econsultant.com

For my project, I created a website that I will claim as Web 2.0.

Check it out here!

http://web20wells.freewebspace.com/rich_text.html

Criticism

Many people say Web 2.0 is all hype, and its not the big revolution people think it is. Critics say Web 2.0 has been around before the term even emerged. For instance, Amazon.com has allowed users to write reviews on products since 1995. Tim Breners-Lee described Web 2.0 as a "peice of jargon" that "nobody really knows what it means". He also said, "if Web 2.0 for you is wikis and blogs, then that is people to people. But that was what the Web was supposed to be all along."

The arguement also exisits that Web 2.0 does not represent a new version of the World Wide Web at all, just merely a continuation of Web 1.0 technologies and concepts. Things like Ajax, which is widely considered a Web 2.0 technology, do not replace underlying protocols like HTTP, but add an additional layer of abstraction on top of them.