Web 2.0

The Internet is evolving into a new generation of Internet-based services that included social networking of sites, collaboration, and wikis into Web 2.0 – is this truly the next generation of the Internet, or an ill-fated phase of growth?

The Web is about 15 years old but it’s getting newer by the day. New web applications and services are entering our lives on a regular basis. Today, the Internet is more user-centric than ever before, with a sense of transparency all around. Content is being organized and categorized to provide an enriching experience to the user. These features and characteristics are part of a new web, which is becoming popularly known as Web 2.0.

Web 2.0, as the name suggests is not a second version of the Web, rather it is a combination of current developments taking place on the Internet. The web is changing the way it operates, it functions and the way people use it to extract or transmit information. This change is happening due to rapid innovation in web technologies and services. New technologies like XML, RSS, WSDL (Web Service Definition Language) and SOAP are making their presence felt on the Internet; helping bring simplicity and openness to the World Wide Web.

Web 2.0 applications include a social element attached to them that primarily aim at linking people and facilitating new kinds of collaborations among them. Wikipedia, Del.ici.ous (social bookmarking), YouTube (video sharing service) and Flickr (photo sharing) demonstrate the social aspect of Web 2.0. In all these websites, one can share their resources (URL’s, videos, photos) with others that result in development of new and ever expanding communities. The beauty of these sites lies in the fact that they help us in knowing interests of other people without actually talking or meeting them in person. Thus, there is no burden of active interaction. We can enjoy the presence and interaction of others, but we don’t need to converse.

When designing an application or a website, one usually thinks of the overall picture that includes data, metadata, and the interface. However, with Web 2.0 applications, the data might be from one source, the metadata from another and the interface from a third. For example, in a website called Flickr, data and metadata is contributed by its visitors while the interface is its own. Thus, Web2.0 is a change from closed, unsocial and inflexible applications to more collaborative, participatory and transparent content. It is part of an idea where all users will function as authors, content writers and programmers. Organizations that enable this in their web services will survive and those that don’t will die.

There is no clear definition of Web 2.0 as yet. It’s hard to find a page on the Internet that provides a single-sentence definition for this concept.  There are various arguments going on about Web 2.0, but no one knows for sure what it really is. The only thing that is consistent is that it aims at improving user’s experience. It is this ambiguity that makes many to dismiss is as another marketing hype. Many experts are of the opinion that suffixing a version 2.0 to the Web does not really mean a new Web. Its proponents should also be able to explain what new things Web 2.0 tries to achieve over “Web 1.0”. Unfortunately, there is no one right now who can answer this question. Until such time Web 2.0 may only exist in theory, not in practice.