This is a small article I wrote for Technofirst.

Products have many versions. Is web 2.0 another version of the internet ? It is not. It is the same internet that existed 10 years ago. Then why is this hype around web 2.0 ? What is web 2.0 ?

The term web 2.0 has got nothing to do with a product version or some enhancements to the current internet. It signifies the change in approach to creating websites. The term Web 2.0 was coined by Tim O’rielly, the founder of the O’rielly company.

When we think technology wise, there is no difference between the web 1.0 and web 2.0. Almost all web technologies that existed 10 years ago are still here and most of the new names in web technology that we hear are enhancements of the earlier ones. The real change happened in the way how we use the technology to deliver a better user experience.
The three corner stones of web 2.0 are

• Collaboration
• Participation
• Networking

The so called web 2.0 applications focus on these areas. The users can participate in an activity. The users can achieve something collaboratively. The users can network with other users.

Web 1.0 was the read only web. Web 2.0 is the write enabled web.

That ends the theory part. Now lets looks at some examples.

• Blogs
• Wikipedia
• Social Networking

In web 1.0 content writers created websites and webmasters maintained it. There was no easy way in which a normal user could participate in any of those. Then came the blogs. Blogs let you create your own space on the internet where you can write about anything you like and your readers can interact with you through comments.

Wikipedia allows you to create something collaboratively. You can start by creating a wiki page and then others can join you in the process. Wikipedia is the worlds largest collaborative project where a complete online encyclopedia is created and maintained by the internet users.

Social networking sites allows you to be in touch will all your friends and family in a single website. Social networking sites allows you to express yourselves and network. Humans are social beings and social networks are the online extensions of our real world social interactions.

In all these examples its the users who are important. Users produce content and the same users consume it. Now they cannot be called producers or consumers because they do both. They are the Prosumers. And this change in focus to the users is the real essence of web 2.0.

The web 2.0 concepts are affecting every web application that is being built these days. The user participation elements can be found in almost every new website in the form of user profiles, tags, comments etc. Youtube, the 15 Billion dollar company is entirely built using user uploaded videos.

Are you still living in web 1.0 ? If yes its time that you moved on. You can enter the web 2.0 world by creating a blog and then sharing your thoughts with the world. Check out my thoughts about the web, wireless and education at www.kenneyjacob.com