Web 2.0 Primer
Web 2.0 (by sage viewers) might best be described as an upgrade to the first generation of the World Wide Web. Newcomers might not understand it, but if you’ve been online since the late 1990’s you know that the way we experience and use the web is very different today. Web 2.0 is new and improved version with more of everything – interaction, communities, voice, videos, audios and multi-media.
New technologies such as blogs, social bookmarking, wikis, podcasts and RSS feeds have been just a few of the technologies helping to shape and direct Web 2.0 and the communities of users.
The main difference between the old internet and Web 2.0 is that the old net had been driven and controlled by site owners and corporations. Web 2.0, on the othe hand, is largely driven by, created, and contributed to, by the millions of users of the internet.
This is the difference that makes today’s internet more user friendly, profitable, and accessible for everyone – not just the geeks or the corporations with a budget. It has been a power shift.
Once websites were built and controlled by only a few and were certainly not ‘interactive’. Today anybody with an idea, a few dollars, determination and a little know-how can build a Web 2.0 site that is completely interactive – proceeding then to turn it into a money-making enterprise, if that is the objective.
The technology exists. It is easy to use. It is accessible and relatively cheap.
Adapt or Die A Slow Death
Many websites – that began as static websites – are now adding interactive features, blogs, and forums; ensuring their past success endures into the future of Internet commerce. You could say they are designing their own social markeing strategy as they go.
On the other hand, websites who have done nothing to change with the times and users’ expectations, are falling further and further behind – in the search engines, in people’s minds, in effectiveness of the creator’s purpose, and in usage.
We have now entered an era where people expect to ask questions and get answers from corporate websites, community websites, and privately owned websites on just about every topic. Users expect websites to be interactive and informative. Yes, the Internet has always been a platform for information but Web 2.0 is a platform for participation in that information.
Let’s look at just a few of Web 2.0’s innovations and how they have changed the way we use the internet today: Read more…
