Web 2.0: An Introduction
An Introduction To Web 2.0
What Is Web 2.0?
Web 2.0, or participative/participatory and social web, “refers to websites that emphasize user-generated content, ease of use, participatory culture, and interoperability for end users.” Web 2.0 is a relatively new term, having only come into popular use about twenty years ago, in 1999. It was first coined by Darcy DiNucci and then became popularized by Tim O’Reilly and Dale Doughtery at a conference in 2004. It’s important to note that Web 2.0 frameworks only deal with the design and use of websites, without placing technical demands on designers.
This article will not get into the history of Web 2.0, but instead discuss how Web 2.0 works and the roles/potential roles it can play in your business.
Characteristics Of Web 2.0
One of the main characteristics of a Web 2.0 site is that users are encouraged and invited to contribute content, instead of simply reading what’s already there. An example of a Web 2.0 site is Medium, a blogging platform where users contribute articles that they have written, as well as interact with content that other users have shared. Social networking sites, such as Facebook and Instagram, are also great examples of Web 2.0.
However, this open contribution forum can lead to internet trolls who leave spam comments or leave nasty comments on the work contributed by others. When people say “don’t read the comments,” it’s often best to heed that advice. The comment sections, particularly on news forums like The New York Times or The Washington Post, can get especially nasty and the trolls are often out in full force. These trolls prevent important discussion from happening because people who have something to contribute to the conversation are often afraid to post for fear of being trolled or spammed.
Other key features of Web 2.0 include:
Folksonomy: a way to classify information, such as through tagging photos, websites, or links; tagging enables users to find information in an organized fashion
Rich user experience: dynamic, interactive content (for example, a user can click on an image of a plant to get more information about that plant — i.e. growth conditions, nutrient requirements, and more)
User participation: helps with the flow of information between the user and the owner of a certain website (for example, Wikipedia allows users to create new pages and edit existing pages to keep information up to date)
Software as a Service (Saas): sites classified as Web 2.0 use APIs for automated usage
Mass participation: we have nearly universal web access that leads to differentiation of concerns, from a traditional internet user to a wider variety of users
Concepts Of Web 2.0
Web 2.0 might sound complex and overwhelming, but it is easily broken down into three technologies: Rich internet application, web-oriented architecture, and social web. We’ll explain each of these in a little more depth later on in this section. Because of these technologies, Web 2.0 combines client and server side software to “provide users with information storage, creation, and dissemination capabilities. None of these things were available in Web 1.0.
First, rich internet application is defined as the user experience from desktop (or laptop) to browser, from both a graphics standpoint and an interactivity point of view.
Second, web-oriented architecture relates to the functionality of Web 2.0 applications to leverage a much richer set of applications. An example of web-oriented architecture is RSS feeds, which is a method of aggregating information, such as a blog or podcast feed.
Third, social web works to make the end user feel like they are a part of the community. This sense of community can be accomplished via social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram, where users interact with each other, or via the comment sections on news sites, where users can respond to articles that have been posted, creating discussion among all users of the site.
Web 2.0 has a few other features and techniques, known as SLATES, a term that was coined by Andrew McAfee. SLATES stands for Search, Links to other websites, Authoring, Tags, Extensions, and Signals. Search refers to finding content via keyword search, while Links to other websites refers to connecting information sources together via the Web model. Authoring refers to the collaborative nature of people bringing their work together, as well as comment systems that allow people to share their viewpoints. Tags refers to the categorization of information, via one or two word phrases, that aids in searching for specific keywords to find information. Extensions are used to make the Web an application platform and document server all in one. Examples of extensions include Adobe Reader, QuickTime, and Windows Media. Finally, Signals refers to the use of extension technology, such as an RSS feed.
Web As Platform
Using the web as a platform goes back to rich user experiences, which we talked about briefly earlier in this article. The best example of using the web as a platform is Google, for myriad reasons. The first reason is that Google can be accessed on multiple devices, whether you use a PC or a Mac. You can also access Google via a mobile device, such as a cell phone or tablet. Not only that, Google is a free and readily available service; all you need is a strong wifi connection to access it. Google is also a seamless product — its search engine and database work in conjunction with one another; this essentially means you can’t have one with the other.
The web uses applications, sometimes called applets, to make the experience of using the internet that much more enjoyable. Take Twitter, for example. On the surface, the concept is simple: you use the interface to send a message via a tweet to your followers, but an Application Programming Interface (API) allows you to go even deeper and use apps that have been created by third party developers, such as Twitterific, which allows users to tweet directly from their desktops rather than using the internet site.
If you’re interested in a list of Web 2.0 applications, check out this one right here. It isn’t a completely comprehensive list, but is instead intended to serve as a jumping off point and introduction to the vast world of Web 2.0 applications.
Web 2.0 And Collective Intelligence
Throughout this article, we’ve talked a lot about how users can use Web 2.0 to harness their collective intelligence. Nowhere is this more true than on a site like Wikipedia, which is essentially written and edited by its users. But more than that, when a new website is added to the internet, it is “bound into the structure of the web by other users discovering the content and linking to it.” Because of this linking and use of content, the web grows organically and becomes stronger with each website that is added.
Another strong example of collective intelligence is Amazon. Amazon sells much more than just books and they often sell products that can be found on other websites. Since the products are the same, the content about those products (i.e. product descriptions, product images, and more) is the same as what other vendors receive. What makes Amazon stand out from the crowd is that they’ve nailed the science of engagement. On Amazon, user activity creates better search results. When you visit Amazon at any given point during the day, you’ll see the most popular products on the home page; those decisions are made based on real-time sales and interactions from other users. This particular mechanism is called “flow” by Amazon insiders.
A Web 2.0 Wrap-Up
As with any web application or interface, Web 2.0 will eventually be a blip on the radar, but that won’t be happening anytime soon. Since Web 2.0 is just about 20 years since its invention (1999) and less than that (2004) from its popularization, we have a lot of room for growth in the Web 2.0 realm.
There are plenty of opportunities to use Web 2.0 to grow your business, including using it as a marketing tactic, which is another article for another time, but if you’re curious, you can check out this article in The Wall Street Journal.
