Monthly Archive for February, 2007

“Web 2.0, a phrase coined by O’Reilly Media in 2004, refers to a supposed second generation of Internet-based services—such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies—that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users.”

– Wikipedia.com

Web 2.0 is not just a new technology, but a new idea. It’s an upgrade from old thoughts. It is revolutionizing the way that the world operates. The emergences of Internet and web2 forces us, everyone, to re-think the idea of “authorship,” “copyright,” etc.

From O’Reilly’s website,

• The Long Tail
  Small sites make up the bulk of the internet’s content; narrow niches make up the bulk of internet’s the possible applications.
  • Therefore: Leverage customer-self service and algorithmic data management to reach out to the entire web, to the edges and not just the center, to the long tail and not just the head.
• Data is the Next Intel Inside
  Applications are increasingly data-driven.
  • Therefore: For competitive advantage, seek to own a unique, hard-to-recreate source of data.
• Users Add Value
  The key to competitive advantage in internet applications is the extent to which users add their own data to that which you provide.
  • Therefore: Don’t restrict your “architecture of participation” to software development. Involve your users both implicitly and explicitly in adding value to your application.
• Network Effects by Default
  Only a small percentage of users will go to the trouble of adding value to your application.
  • Therefore: Set inclusive defaults for aggregating user data as a side-effect of their use of the application.
• Some Rights Reserved. Intellectual property protection limits re-use and prevents experimentation.
  • Therefore: When benefits come from collective adoption, not private restriction, make sure that barriers to adoption are low. Follow existing standards, and use licenses with as few restrictions as possible. Design for “hackability” and “remixability.”
• The Perpetual Beta
  When devices and programs are connected to the internet, applications are no longer software artifacts, they are ongoing services.
  • Therefore: Don’t package up new features into monolithic releases, but instead add them on a regular basis as part of the normal user experience. Engage your users as real-time testers, and instrument the service so that you know how people use the new features.
• Cooperate, Don’t Control
  Web 2.0 applications are built of a network of cooperating data services.
  • Therefore: Offer web services interfaces and content syndication, and re-use the data services of others. Support lightweight programming models that allow for loosely-coupled systems.
• Software Above the Level of a Single Device
  The PC is no longer the only access device for internet applications, and applications that are limited to a single device are less valuable than those that are connected.
  • Therefore: Design your application from the get-go to integrate services across handheld devices, PCs, and internet servers.

-O’Reilly Website

In the world of Web 2.0, everyone creates, everyone writes, and everyone shares. User is the center of the information creation, not a single company/author. The idea behind web2 is to create an open online environment that everyone contributes. People are capable of generating new thoughts, and this capability should not be confined or undermined. Through web2, people connect (with others) via the internet.

Web 2.0 is a shift from old OS applications to the Internet services, as Google is actively developing services over the net. Why is Google so powerful? It does not create any content or new information, but it aggregates them and presents the aggregated data to users. Every bit of raw data that Google gets, everyone else can get (i.e. map data, web pages on internet, images). Google, however, take the information (data) to the next level. It reuse the data and generates information that is hard to recreate. It combines map with images. It combines reviews with business locations. The key is not to control over raw data, but to better use these information in more meaningful ways.

None of the content you find on Google is created by the company per say, but by you, by me, and by everyone else using internet. What it provides are ubiquitous services on the internet (assuming people have access to it) that people can use (and want to use). The key is re-using existing data, and make them useful. 

Here’s the powerpoint slideshow of my presentation on Web 2.0 for my Information Architecture class last semester (WARNING: not that interesting. Check it out ONLY IF you are just wayyyy toooo boring).