What is “Web 2.0”?

“Web 2.0” is often confused with Internet 2, which is an EDU based network that has achieved data transfer speeds as high as 9 gigabits per second over 30,000 km. Instead, “Web 2.0” refers to the Web as a platform for a new paradigm in software delivery and functionality.
Since the 2004 O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 Conference, where the term was coined, “Web 2.0” has been a widely-used buzzword in the mainstream media. Web Ascender feels that the concept of “Web 2.0” is rooted in three main principles:

• Creating a rich web experience
• Speeding up software adoption time
• Social networking and community-driven content

Creating a Rich Web Experience

Using the web through an internet browser is traditionally a hunt-and-peck affair, through hyperlinks that load pages of new data. As programmers leverage technologies such as Javascript & CSS within browsers, and as broadband Internet access becomes more prevalent, web designers can start to build interfaces that respond quickly and operate more like traditional desktop applications. The latest technologies make it much easier to create drag-and-drop interfaces and web programs that do not require the page to reload to deliver new data to the user. Users now expect immediate results when clicking or a visual indicator of what is happening above and beyond the loading icon in your browser.
Some web applications that are examples of rich user interfaces include:
Google Mail - gmail.com
Google’s web-based email system allows you to search mail, send mail, and even chat without ever having to wait for a page to refresh or reload. The experience is like running a program on your local computer, yet it is 100% web-based.
Facebook – facebook.com
Adding new friends, registering to attend an event and working with your photos becomes much easier when using a system like Facebook rather than MySpace. Facebook has done a better job of leveraging the “Web 2.0” technologies than some of their competitors.
PageFlakes - PageFlakes.com
Instead of opening your browser to the usual default home pages MSN.com or Yahoo.com, try Pageflakes.com and organize your homepage the way you want it to be.

Speeding Up Software Adoption – ‘Beta Software’

Beta software traditionally means that majority of the features are implemented but testing is not complete and all the bugs have not necessarily been worked out. Traditional software companies wait until beta testing is completed before releasing their product to market.
The new breed of “Web 2.0” applications, are getting to market more quickly by being released as beta applications. They then rely on their users to do the testing, discover bugs and submit the feedback. This strategy works as long as the company is dedicated to solving bugs and rolling out fixes quickly.
Some Beta applications include:

• Google Mail (www.gmail.com)
• SpringWidgets (www.springwidgets.com)
• BlinkList (www.blinklist.com)

Social Networking

Many “Web 2.0” websites are totally based around user-provided content and information. Whether it is a wiki such as Wikipedia.com or connecting with classmates and friends sites such as Facebook.com, social networking allows communities to harness their collective intelligence. Social Networking is a driving force in the next wave of web applications. Good examples of websites that consist of mainly user-provided content are:

• Facebook.com
• Myspace.com
• Orkut.com
• Wikipedia.com

In short, “Web 2.0” represents a clean break from the old days of plain and static web pages, long software release cycles and purely host-provided content. The “Web 2.0” paradigm means a future of more innovation, more agility in software development and, in aggregate, more intelligent website content.