3 replies to this topic

[nitram]

Web 2.0 - the Internet is changing
The way we use the web is constantly changing and with the advent of 'application-based' websites there is a much greater functionality available, providing us with useful, easy-to-use online tools, giving us far more flexibility and a greater control over the web.

Websites have come a long way since the World Wide Web was opened up to the domain in 1991. Early websites were basically a collection of static pages which displayed text and didn't really allow for much user interaction. 20 years on, the web has evolved into something that goes far beyond electronic magazines, catalogues and long pages of text. Welcome to Web 2.0, the new generation of the web.

What is Web 2.0?
The term Web 2.0 came from a series of conferences run by web guru Tim O'Reilly and it was used at the time to describe a renaissance that was going on in the Internet. Faster web servers and connections enabled more sophisticated web programmes to be developed, leading to a richer internet environment for everyone. It is difficult to pin down what Web 2.0 exactly is so the best way to explain it is by looking at some of the best Web 2.0 sites in action. These fit into two main categories; User Democracy and Web-based Applications...


User Democracy:
'Self-regulation of the Internet and its development through rough consensus.' Popular examples of these include the following:

Wikipedia
Wikipedia is probably the best known of the new generation of sites. It is a free online encyclopaedia whose content is added, edited and updated by the users themselves. This is driven by a Wiki engine, which enables large scale collaborative work to be performed without the need of contributors to be that technically savvy.

reddit
Another good example of user democracy in action is reddit, a 'news' site where users control the choice of article by submitting news stories, blog entries and sites of interest from around the world. The more interesting the article proves to be, (as voted for by any users) the higher profile the story is given on the site.

Web-based Applications: An application accessed through a web-browser that users are able to utilise from any computer without installing any software. Poular examples of these kind of sites include:

ajaxWrite
ajaxWrite is a site where you can now write, open and edit word documents, just by going to the site. These Rich Internet Applications (RIA) utilise technologies like AJAX and Flash Remoting , technologies which allow web applications to run effectively, smoothly and simply.

Google Maps
Google Maps is a very cool Ajax-based site that allows you to have a bird's eye view of pretty much anywhere in the world. Viewed as a map or a satellite image, you can zoom in, out and move around anywhere to find a desired location or to just to look at the world from a new angle. You can see how effective the Ajax software is by comparing the smooth scrolling you see on Google Maps to an old style map site like streetmap.co.uk where any view changes require a cumbersome page-refresh.

Remember the Milk
Remember the Milk is a site that works like a personal organiser allowing you to post reminders and tasks for yourself. Like all of these sites, you can access it from anywhere you have an internet connection, be it on a desktop or mobile phone. Reminders can even be sent straight to you through SMS messaging.

del.icio.us
Apart from its inspired name, del.icio.us is one of the original 'social bookmarking sites'. It is a site that allows you to store, keep track of and share all your favourite items, sites and bookmarks from the web. The major controlling feature of the site is the ability to attribute key words and labels any of your selected sites, making them easier to find by their associated 'tags'.

Well, having mentioned a few of the new generation of websites focused on delivering an enhanced user experience, we thought we’d take a look at some web 2.0 features that you can try out yourself.

Welcome to the world of RSS, Podcasts, Blogging and Social Networking...

RSS feeds
RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication' and is a way for sites you like to keep you up-top-date with its latest news. It is essentially a list of headlines and links to relevant articles (stored as an xml file with standardised rules - for the more technical amongst you). If you, your pc or your blog wants to pick up this information or 'feed', all you need to do is point to the location of the rss file and then, using a 'news aggregator', render the information it collects it into a readable format.

Whenever a feed is updated by a host, the changes are updated to anyone who 'subscribes' to that feed across the web. News on Feeds provides a good list of News aggregators which enable you to subscribe to feeds.
If you have a popular site, you can create a feed for others to subscribe to so they can keep up-to-date on what is new on your site. There are many applications that allow you to do this without getting too technical: RSS info provides more detailed information on creating your own feed.

Podcasts
Podcasts are very similar to RSS feeds the only difference is that instead of linking to web pages they link to an audio media file. The media file can be anything but is generally like a radio programme, although copyright issues mean that the use of music can be quite restrictive. Just like RSS feeds podcasts automatically update whenever the podcast is changed. Applications like iTunes make it easy to subscribe to podcasts.

Making a podcast yourself is simple enough if you have the means to record and mix an audio file. Record what you want to podcast, create an RSS feed which links to the media files and then you are podcasting! Check out our guide to podcasts for more info about what is available and where to find them.

Blogs
The word 'Blog' is short for 'Weblog' and is now a broadly used term to describe what is essentially a personal online journal that anyone can read. Blogging has been part of internet culture for a number of years now and has evolved into something much more than just a load of diaries. Using newer technologies such as RSS feeds, you can customise your pages so that they automatically update with information from all over the web, link to other sites you like and share information with like minded people. Commenting on other people's blogs is openly encouraged and can add an extra depth to any blog also allowing the readers to engage in any discussion and debate.

Social Networks
Social networking is the latest 'craze' to hit the net and in some respects is an extension of blogging. Popularised by sites like myspace and bebo, users set up a page containing a personal profile, pictures, likes/dislikes etc.

This page acts as a base to meet others on the same social network. If you like the look of someone's profile you can add them to your friends and meet similar people through them and soon enough you are in a 'social network'.

Myspace also allows users to add music to their profile which when combined with the 'word-of-mouse' populous nature of social networking has launched the careers of artists like the Artic Monkeys, Fallout Boy and Lilly Allen.

[Linoman]

I cant wait for Web 2.0? Its about time that things start to change

[nitram]

Yep its been a long time comeing.

[simon]

same here I cant wait.. Its been long over do