What Is Web 2.0?

There seems to be much confusion about what Web 2.0 is these days. A marketing word, a buzzword, sure - but what is it? Many people seem to think it’s a matter of design, layout and making a website dynamic. In some ways, I guess they’re right - but not really.

Design is not only how it looks. It’s also how it works. And dynamics is not just about how often a page needs to be refreshed. This is where people have gotten confused, as design is obviously seen as something purely graphical to most. Web 2.0 is not.

I would describe Web 2.0 as a concept by which you can design your site. It touches a range of different subjects. It defines the actual purpose of a web application and the way it works, in a much deeper sense than what you see on the screen and what you choose to click at. It’s not a recipe, it’s not a cookbook. It’s the whole concept of food, redefined.

Very abstract, indeed. But when you take a look at the big picture of how the internet looks today and where it’s heading, things get clearer. Let go of the past and the future will appear much less clouded, I guarantee you.

Look at Facebook and it’s increasing popularity (not to mention the $240 million or so investment from Microsoft.) Look at the way the blogging community looks and works. Look at Wikipedia and the subtle way it’s promoting collaboration on a massive and global scale. Flickr is changing the way people think and feel about photography. YouTube is doing the same thing with video.

The web is no longer about expressing so much as interacting. It’s about sharing information, communicating and collaborating, with people from all around the world, instantly. This is not something that can be fully summarized in an article - it is something that is occurring right now, constantly, all around us.

It’s a big yet subtle change in both the usability of web applications and the behavior if it’s users. Web 2.0 is another version of the concept of the internet. It isn’t just here, it’s all around us. Eric Schmidt is already talking about a Web 3.0, which is even more interesting.

If you want to read more about Web 2.0, I recommend this old but still accurate article by O’Reilly. And if you’re up to the challenge, I suggest you go define the next version. ;)