What does web 2.0 really mean? When I first heard this phrase, I thought that Web 2.0 is the newest version, as for softwares, if you have version 1, 1.5, 2.0, is it an update of some kind? Or is it an Era?
Tim O’Reilly is generally credited with inventing the term, according to him the idea of Web 2.0 came about during his brainstorming with MediaLive International in 2004. O’Reilly first defined it as “Web as a platform” . But if you search the Internet, you will also read several different meanings of the term, some examples are;
Web 2.0 = the underlying philosophy of giving up control
Web 2.0 = glocalisation (“making global information available for local social contexts and giving people the flexibility to find, organize, share and create information in a locally meaningful way that is accessible globally”)
Web 2.0 = an attitude, not a technology
Web 2.0 = when data, interface and metadata no longer need to go hand in hand
Web 2.0 = distance action interactions and ad hoc integration
Web 2.0 = power and control via API
Web 2.0 = give up control and release data
With various meanings of the term, many people are confused and for some the term is just nonsense jargon. But is it?
Here are two determining factors of Web2.0
The first is AJAX (short for Asynchronous JavaScript and XHTML), which allows the web application to do its work in the background without interfering with the display or behavior of the existing page. The use of AJAX has led to an increase in interactive or dynamic interfaces on web pages and a better quality of web services due to the asynchronous (not synchronized) mode. An example of an Ajax application is Google Maps. A lot of softwares are now being written to take advantage of Ajax and a fine line will soon be drawn between the web application and the desktop. Some even think that web applications can outperform PC software like Microsoft. Ajax is the predecessor of the definition “Web 2.0 = Web as a platform”.
The second is the power of the user. Internet users have more power now than before, they have the ability to control or set preferences for their Internet experience. Just a few years ago, or let’s say before Web 2.0, many websites were quite autocratic for users, subjecting them to annoying advertisements, making them sign up and spamming them with spam emails. Today’s websites are easier to use. For website owners, the competition is now offering cheaper and easier solutions to users, giving them more choice and freedom, giving them a better interface and control over their experience, and giving their users a voice and listening to them.
Personally, I think what web 2.0 means is “the web as it is supposed to be these days.” The changes in the web at this time are based on past experiences and improving them, it is a continuous effort to produce new technology to surpass the previous one, it is to keep up with the changing lives and preferences of Internet users, it is a natural evolution.