What is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 is a perceived or proposed second generation of the web. This is were the web has evolved and improved over time and now offers better and more up to date services like blogs, wiki’s, social networking sites etc.

A term introduced in 2004 to characterize design patterns in a constellation of new generation Web applications which may provide an infrastructure for more dynamic user participation, social interaction and collaboration.

The bursting of the dot-com bubble in the fall of 2001 marked a turning point for the web. Many people concluded that the web was over hyped, when in fact bubbles and consequent shakeouts appear to be a common feature of all technological revolutions. Shakeouts typically mark the point at which an ascendant technology is ready to take its place at center stage. The pretenders are given the bum's rush, the real success stories show their strength, and there begins to be an understanding of what separates one from the other.

The concept of "Web 2.0" began with a conference brainstorming session between O'Reilly and MediaLive International. Dale Dougherty, web pioneer and O'Reilly VP, noted that far from having "crashed", the web was more important than ever, with exciting new applications and sites popping up with surprising regularity. What's more, the companies that had survived the collapse seemed to have some things in common. Could it be that the dot-com collapse marked some kind of turning point for the web, such that a call to action such as "Web 2.0" might make sense? We agreed that it did, and so the Web 2.0 Conference was born.

• Buzzwords Have Their Uses
• Help define a complicated and nebulous set of concepts
• Eases communication
• Good for non-technical people
• Good way to promote a group of technologies

• Term invented by Tim O'Reilly and Dale Dougherty
• Saw that many of today's successful companies shared a similar set of characteristics
• Very different approach from the dotcom companies of 2000
• Hence web 1.0 and web 2.0

• AltaVista vs. Google
• Hotmail vs. Yahoo Mail
• Ofoto vs. Flickr
• Mp3.com vs. iTunes
• Geocities vs. Blogger
• MapQuest vs. Google Maps
• Encarta vs. Wikipedia
• Netscape vs. Firefox

• Open data formats
• No data lock-in or walled gardens
• User created data
• User owns their own data
• Ability to use data outside the confines of the application
• Data used across devices

• Providing a service, not a product (infoware not software)
• Encourage user contribution (reviews, comments)
• Collective intelligence (PageRank, folksonomies, popularity)
• Make it easy to re-use and re-mix
• Customer self-service
• Community and sense of ownership

• Easy to use
• Pleasurable to use
• Build social networks
• Rich user interface
• Functions like a traditional application

• Open data through API's and web services
• RSS
• Ajax
• Web Standards (DOM Scripting, XHTML, CSS)

• Using existing technologies in new and innovative ways
• Change in the way people view the web
• More mature industry
• Healthier web economy
• Need to innovate just to maintain position

• Sudden renewed energy on the web
• New apps popping up every week
• Big companies snapping up talent
• People investing in start-ups again
• Need for more UK start-ups?

• The web is changing from a document delivery system to an application platform

• Simplifies distribution
• Easy way of maintaining code
• Faster speed to market
• Share data across devices
• Subscription model vs. one off purchase

• Ajax Applications
• Desktop Widgets (Dashboard, Konfabulator etc)
• Flex Applications
• OpenLazlo Applications
• XUL Applications
• Smart Clients and Avalon