Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of the World Wide Web that is focused on the ability for people to collaborate and share information online. Web 2.0 basically refers to the transition from static HTML Web pages to a more dynamic Web that is more organized and is based on serving Web applications to users. Other improved functionality of Web 2.0 includes open communication with an emphasis on Web-based communities of users, and more open sharing of information. Over time Web 2.0 has been used more as a marketing term than a computer-science-based term. Blogs, wikis, and Web services are all seen as components of Web 2.0. [1]

The concept of "Web 2.0" began with a conference brainstorming session between O'Reilly and MediaLive International. Dale Dougherty, web pioneer and O'Reilly VP, noted that far from having "crashed", the web was more important than ever, with exciting new applications and sites popping up with surprising regularity. What's more, the companies that had survived the collapse seemed to have some things in common. Could it be that the dot-com collapse marked some kind of turning point for the web, such that a call to action such as "Web 2.0" might make sense?[2]

Early on, the internet, or World Wide Web was infantile compared to the vast tools available now. With this second generation web, it has not only brought the world together in business but in social life itself.

We are in the midst of developing concepts. Social media alone is a vast and changing environment. It is a business marketing haven for up coming companies targeting audiences. Blogging, instant messaging, telecommunications, interactive websites all make up the new generation Web 2.0. Yet, through all the media blitz and business frenzy, is it all really “good”? For fear of sounding “dated” I will risk to say not all that glitters here is gold. We fight for the right of privacy. In one quick click of the mouse it’s gone. We are opening ourselves up to uncharted territories. Companies are watching what we eat, buy, browse even read. I shouldn’t say watching...the proper term here is “stalking”. It is, however, our fault.

Why not check in with 465 friends and let them know what you are doing every moment, or tell the world every step you take with a change in status. Or how about an update on location and let the world know exactly where you are at any given second. The Web is no longer a collection of static pages of HTML that describe something in the world. Increasingly, the Web is the world – everything and everyone in the world casts an "information shadow," an aura of data which, when captured and processed intelligently, offers extraordinary opportunity and mind bending implications. Web Squared is our way of exploring this phenomenon and giving it a name. [3]

[1] http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/Web_2_point_0.html

[2] http://oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1

[3] http://www.web2summit.com/web2009/public/schedule/detail/10194

For further interest watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsa5ZTRJQ5w