Aplus.net Blog

Ask a dozen tech pundits to describe Web 2.0 and you’re likely to get two dozen explanations as to what it is. The precise definition remains open to debate — and in some ways, that’s exactly the point.

So begins “What Is Web 2.0?,” a recent article by BNET’s Mike Wolcott that attempts to attempts to create a clear definition, history, and set of user guidelines to the Web 2.0 phenomenon.

The story argues that Web 2.0 isn’t a fad, nor is it just a recent development. It’s actually the culmination of a sort of Internet evolution that’s been ongoing since the 1980s. What’s more, it’s something that consumers and companies alike would be wise to try to understand now, at this relatively early stage.

… Web 2.0 describes a set of next-generation Internet technologies. These protocols and tools make it easier to create online applications that behave dynamically, much like traditional PC-based software. They’re also highly social, encouraging users to manipulate and interact with content in new ways. Web 2.0 pushes computing power off the desktop and onto the Internet, which means less time and money spent on PC software administration. As a general rule, Web 2.0 tools are also less expensive than traditional software — and many are even free. Because they’re Web-based, all you need to get started is an up-to-date browser.

… In general, the key characteristics of Web 2.0 are:

* Web-based applications can be accessed from anywhere
* Simple applications solve specific problems
* Value lies in content, not the software used to display content
* Data can be readily shared
* Distribution is bottom-up, not top-down
* Employees and customers can access and use tools on their own
* Social tools encourage people to create, collaborate, edit, categorize, exchange, and promote information
* Network effects are encouraged; the more people who contribute, the better the content gets

All of this has major implications for the future of information technology and personal communications. Web 2.0 creates new ways for large groups of people to collaborate and exchange information while reducing the importance of the PC itself as an information-delivery platform. When both the applications and the data that feed into them reside online, a variety of devices can function as information terminals: your smart phone, your music player, the computer you use today, and whatever computer you’ll use next year. Web 2.0 not only makes all this possible, it also makes it inexpensive and easy to deploy.

Read the entire story here.