What is Web2.0?

Thursday, January 13th, 2011 | internet | 5 Comments

The term Web2.0 has been with us for a while now – in fact it is so 2009 – but many still grapple to understand what it is.

Web2.0 is not a new software version of the internet – rather, it is a concept.  Many attempts have been made to explain what it is, but if you cut through all the complex explanations, it is not difficult to understand the concept:

Web1.0 refers to the internet as most of us know it – a world wide web of information to be surfed when we need information.  But it is ‘read only’ – we go there to find information.  The main difference of Web2.0 is that it is ‘read/write’.

The advent of Web2.0 simply means that new tools became available so that ordinary people like you and me have the ability to write our ideas onto the web with little effort.   We can do so by maintaining a blog – or even commenting on a blog – or through other networking programmes such as Twitter, Facebook, Plurk and others.  Of course, there are also other ways in which you can be an active participant on the web.

Web2.0 tools empower us to make our voice heard on the internet.  It is now possible for every person who has access to the internet to write to it – sharing experiences, knowledge, insights, views, theories, and other ideas.  This can be done by means of text, graphics, sound and video.

While the concept of Web2.0 has been advocated for some time now, too many – perhaps most – web surfers are still doing so in Web1.0 mode.

In what mode are you operating?

Tags: internet, Web 2.0

Web 2.0 – Exactly what is it?

Thursday, March 12th, 2009 | Blogging | 1 Comment

The term Web 2.0 is used often these days.  Exactly what is it?

I have been toying for some time with the idea to post something on this blog to explain the term.  But then I came across a blog posting of Michael Summers in which he demystifies Web 2.0 by stating that it is “using the web to do stuff”.

Simple, isn’t it?  And all along we thought that it is such a difficult notion!

So now I don’t have to do any explaining – if you want to get a clear understanding of what Web 2.0 is, take the time to read Michael’s posting: Web 2.0 – Exactly what is it?

Tags: blog, internet, Web 2.0