When
asked
the
question,
"What is
Web
2.0?"
perhaps
you can
offer
more
insight
to the
term
other
than
"It's
the word
with 580
million
listings
in
Google*".
Any
knowledge
about
the
phrase
may
place
you
above
the
norm, as
most
internet
users
are
still
perplexed
at its
mention.
The
actual
origin
and
definition
of Web
2.0 is
an issue
that has
received
much
debate,
enough
so to
have its
own
Criticism
section
on its
Wikipedia
page.
The term
has been
called
everything
from
"overly
complicated"
to a
"social
phenomenon"
to
simply a
"marketing
buzzword".
Amongst
the hype
and
criticism,
however,
are some
valid
explanations
that may
help to
reach
the
heart of
what Web
2.0
truly
means.
Defining
Web 2.0
If you
Google
Web 2.0
you'll
find the
following
definition,
"Web 2.0
is a
term
often
applied
to a
perceived
ongoing
transition
of the
World
Wide Web
from a
collection
of
websites
to a
full-fledged
computing
platform
serving
web
applications
to end
users.
Ultimately
Web 2.0
services
are
expected
to
replace
desktop
computing
applications
for many
purposes."
This
definition
links to
Wikipedia's
Web 2.0
page,
that
further
explains
the term
in more
layman's
terms as
"a
perceived
second-generation
of
web-based
communities
and
hosted
services,
such as
social-networking
sites (wikis
and
folksonomies)
which
aim to
facilitate
collaboration
and
sharing
between
users."
In
regards
to its
origin,
Wikipedia
states
that the
term's
popularity
arose
from the
first
O'Reilly
Media
Web 2.0
conference
held in
2004.
Oreilynet.com
gives
some
insight
into the
brainstorming
session
that
hatched
the
conference,
and
offers a
more
in-depth
definition
for Web
2.0 in
their
online
article,
"What Is
Web 2.0:
Design
Patterns
and
Business
Models
for the
Next
Generation
of
Software".
Tim
O'Reilly,
the
founder
of
O'Reilly
Media,
refers
to Web
2.0 as
"business
embracing
the web
as a
platform
and
utilising
its
strengths",
stating
that
"Eric
Schmidt's
abridged
slogan,
don't
fight
the
Internet,
encompasses
the
essence
of Web
2.0-
building
applications
and
services
around
the
unique
features
of the
Internet,
as
opposed
to
building
applications
and
expecting
the
Internet
to suit
as a
platform."
If
you
happen
to be an
online
store
owner,
perhaps
you've
already
embraced
your own
definition
of Web
2.0 with
anything
ranging
from an
online
store
Blog, to
your
business's
MySpace
page. In
doing
so, you
are
taking
the word
founder's
advice
in
embracing,
not
fighting,
the
ever-changing
internet
and the
way in
which
it's
used
today-
and the
different
way it
may be
used
tomorrow!
*As of
August
30,
2007. In
O'Reilly's
Web 2.0
article
written
on
September
30,
2005, he
noted
"more
than 9.5
million
citations
in
Google"
for the
term.