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Technology + Community + Gloss = Web 2.0
For the web, the one thing that is constant is change. I’m hearing more and more people talk about Web 2.0. Lots of businesses say that they want it, though very few know what it is.
When I first read about Web 2.0 I was a little worried. The talk was that there was to be a new version of the web and that the old would be left behind. I believe I first read about Web 2.0 way back on 2005.
So what does “Web 2.0” mean today? Here is my try at brevity…
1) Technology
One ingredient of its meaning is certainly Ajax. Basically, what “Ajax” means is “Javascript now works.”
And that in turn means that web-based applications can now be made to work much more like desktop ones. And now that Javascript works new software is being written at incredible speeds. The major players are trying to keep up or buy out the software. Heard of Google Maps?! A canonical example of an Ajax app. Google liked it and bought.
2) Community
The second element is Community. This new accessibility to powerful technology has proven to level the field. With the right technology in place regular people can now do things now that can compete with an surpass major corporations. Heard of Wikipedia? The free web based Encyclopedia. So it is not perfect, but it’s free and tons of people are actually using it. It is written by the people for the people.
My good friend Ryan Yanez (a fellow geek) is hooked on Digg.com. Digg is a a technology news site that is changing the way people consume information online. It is community driven and there are no editors. So take with a grain of salt.
While Wikipedia and Digg say is that it’s good enough and free, del.icio.us says that voters do a significantly better job than human editors.
3) Gloss
The 3rd element is glossy. The design of most Web 2.0 sites is very clean and simple. Almost ever 2.0 site out there has a shiny, glossy, gui (gooey) look to it. Complete with color gradients reflections.
And a discussion of Web 2.0 and Community wouldn’t be complete without (a shameless plug) CowlitzToday. CowlitzToday.com is a project that continues to exceeded our expectations. CowlitzToday.com is the calendar for Cowlitz County. We have over 90 partners such Cities, Churches, Hospitals, Schools, Service clubs, Sports Groups,Theaters, Venues % more.. They all have access to post their own public events so as they are defined by our terms of service. At the time of this writing (June 20th – Deadline Day) our community has posted 3661 local events to date.
CowlitzToday.com use AJAX to make it easy to add events. It uses many Web 2.0 technologies including Google Maps to help people learn about what is happening in our area.
Still don’t understand? That is OK, as soon a most people figure it out we will be learning about Web 3.0.
Valley Bugler Co-Publisher Oscar Myre IV is not only our geek he is also the creative director for omOriginals.
www.omOriginals.com
Javascript
A Web scripting language developed by Netscape. It was developed independently of the full JAVA language and is an “open” language, free for anyone to use and adapt.
GeekByte
AOL bought Netscape for $4.2 million in 1999. AOL stopped support of Netscape February of 2008. Development had ended long ago.
Tags: ajax, aol, community, cowlitz county, cowlitztoday.com, delicious.com, digg.com, geekbyte, google maps, javascript, longview washington, netscape, omOriginals, technology, valley bugler, web 2.0, wikipedia
