If you are not comfortable with technology and its concocted numerical nomenclature. If you haven’t figured out Web 2.0 yet, we give you a load up on what it really means to get connected!
How many of us are comfortable with technology and advancements in it? Not too many, I’m sure. The recent generation is a little more ‘Tech-savvy’ they say, but even then it’s just a very superficial understanding of the terms and their purposes. Under this condition, when someone mentions Web 2.0, it seems a little over your head! Have they actually reinvented the web? Isn’t that what 1.0, 2.0 etc are supposed to mean? Different versions of the same thing. So does this affect the way we use the web? It will probably become more complicated with more tools, more buttons, more of everything to make the user think even more while using it! So many questions that tend to make Web 2.0 seem like some enigma which is understood by just a few and blindly used by the rest. But the fact of the matter is that, Web 2.0 would not exist if it was not for the common user. It is us that make the new version of the Web, and not the geeks in their cubicles writing innumerable lines of code.
Web 2.0 was a term introduced to the world during the first O’Reilly MediaWeb 2.0 conference in 2004, but has never really been accepted widely as the right nomenclature. We could possibly define Web 2.0 as a knowledge-oriented environment where human interactions generate content that is published, managed and used through network applications in a service-oriented architecture.This by itself is obviously confusing and is not how you would want to describe it to someone who you are trying to explain the simplicity of Web 2.0 to! However, I have mentioned it here for those who are interested in knowing the technical description of the term. For the rest, it is basically trying to say that Web 2.0 is a place where you, your friends, your family and anyone else can come share information in various forms and get connected to each other in the process. Basically, let’s come hang out and exchange information!
Simple isn’t it?
Let’s take some examples to get into the spirit of Web 2.0 a little more. How many of us have an Orkut, Facebook or MySpace account? Pretty much everybody. And this is exactly what Web 2.0 is all about. People no longer use the Web just to check their mail and send out information at fixed points of time.It’s now all about making everything real time and sharing and exchanging information then and there. The sites mentioned above allow you to put up photos, write down your thoughts, make a profile that people can browse, share videos and lots more. Suddenly no one on the net is a stranger. People can look through your profile and learn more about yourself even before they have met you. You can connect to people you would never have directly met, but who may be able to help you in a number of ways from hobbies, to accommodation, to education and a lot more. These sites function on user-generated content and that’s what Web 2.0 is all about.
Putting the power in the hands of the user!You will no longer be told what to do online, but will be asked what you want to do. The Web is no longer a place for the ‘Tech –savvy’ or the professionals who want to showcase their skills. It’s all about the common user who wants to share his thoughts, his work, his skills and allows others to view and rate his work.Everybody can now have their own web page, and even a custom URL to give them their own online identity.
Blogs have already been advanced enough to allow you to not only write about your experiences, but to also include pictures, videos and lots of other features that make them a rich source of information and an outlet for the creatively inclined to showcase themselves to the whole world.Gone is the time when you had to have big bucks behind you to do anything online and even then have technical expertise to execute it.
Now, all you need is some basic computer knowledge and you are on your way to destinations unknown! You no longer need a space ship to “Boldly go where no man has gone before!”But for all its plus points and advantages, the Web 2.0 advancement also has some serious privacy invasion and identity theft drawbacks. With the amount of personal and potential sensitive information online, you need to make sure you take care of who is looking at your web pages and blogs. Identity theft for creating bogus accounts, image theft, misuse of personal information are all very serious and real threats that abound in this brave new world of the Web.
The movies “The Net” and “The Net 2.0” dealt with a fictional situation of the ill effects of the World Wide Web, but these seem very plausible with the simplification of the Web of late. But with the ease it introduces and the scope for enrichment of our lives, Web 2.0 cannot be viewed as a bad advancement at all.It’s just up to the user to ensure that he/she uses it responsibly. “With great power comes great responsibility”, said Spiderman and that applies to the Web as well. With the new power and control that it offers to the common user, it is up to him to ensure he uses it carefully and makes sure he watches his own back and other’s as well. At this time of sharing information and thoughts, sharing concerns and watching out for your online colleagues is a must. After all, isn’t that what Web 2.0 is all about. Sharing, exchanging and experiencing what others have.
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