What is "Web 2.0?"

You may have heard a new term lately: "Web 2.0." The term refers to the world wide web and like the web it is difficult to define... I will try to put it into layman's terms:

"Web 2.0" refers to new developments that are currently transforming the Internet. The concept is that the first generation of the Internet was "Web 1.0." In its first iteration, using the Internet involved primarily two things: 1) email, and 2) browsing through websites designed by someone else (third parties). An example would be Amazon.com. Web users would visit Amazon, look around, and perhaps buy a book, then leave.

Then, several years ago, this began to change as web sites became increasingly interactive.

Websites like Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter allowed users to design their own page, which they could personalize with their biographical information and photos. Next, users could link their pages up with that of other users, forming networks. Now communication could occur not just through email, but through these networks. No longer were Internet users passive participants just "surfing" the Internet. Now they were creating their own content and sharing it in ways never before possible. Thus, many believe a quantum leap in communication technologies has recently occurred.

And now if users like something, they can bookmark it, not just to their personal computer, but to a shared site on the Internet, and now their entire network can also see and access these sites (think about everyone talking around a virtual water cooler). Individuals began to "blog," (blog is short for "web log"). This and more is Web 2.0, the second generation of the Internet. Read more about Web 2.0 hereWikipedia Article on Web 2.0.


Why does Web 2.0 matter?


First, Web 2.0 democratizes information in a way never before possible. Rather than, for example, just passively reading a newspaper written by a third party - now everyday people, not just journalists and celebrities - are creating and sharing content themselves. During the recent turmoil in Iran, these Internet networks played a role in disseminating information both inside and outside the country and perhaps in some ways contributed to the events that occurred. Is this significant? The controlling parties in Iran and China seem to think so, as they are attempting to use technologies to attempt to censor the internetWall Street Journal Article - Iran's Web Spying Aided By Western Technology.

The second reason is that no one person, no central authority, created Web 2.0. Rather, it emerged naturally from the actions of millions of individuals. How is that for democracy and capitalism in action? So Web 2.0 argues for the power of the individual as opposed to that of bureaucracies or centralized authority. I find it quite exhilarating.

Finally, there are those who say Web 2.0 doesn't even really exist, that it is just a catchy phrase and that the Internet has not fundamentally changed. My response to these naysayers is: that's no fun! After all, without the occasional new word or idiom, what is a logophileA logophile is a lover of words to do? And what is a blogger to blog about?


If you'd like to learn more about Web 2.0, you may want to check out Neil Patel's excellent blog hereNeil Patel's, "Quick Sprout" Blog. He's kind of a big deal in the world of Web 2.0.