I am fairly new to web design, but hear this term a lot. Please can someone help me to understand what this means, but not in a technical sense or you will confuse me even more. Plain and simple details work much better and not something copied from Wikipedia. If someone can tell me what is Web 2.0, it's actual purpose and how it can best benefit me as a designer, I would be EXTREMELY grateful!
In Laymen's Terms...What Is Web 2.0?
Web 2.0 isn't really a "thing". It is just an concept or reflection on the state of the web, in comparison to how things used to be. It was used in that sense by Tim O'reilly, and since it is a catchy term, it caught on and stayed with us.
To most people and companies though it is a buzzword. People use it in any way that is advantageous to them. It really isn't a term for developers or designers, but rather for marketing departments.
But a general idea within web 2.0 is User generated content, collaboration and enablement. I suppose Social Networking and Blogs are examples of this. It's given everyone a voice that can potentially be heard from all corners of the world.
How does it help you as a designer? I'm not really sure.
If you know what a blog is, what a social network is, and other user generated content based sites like movie reviews, and hotel finders are, you can try to figure out if it helps you.
But even if it doesn't, I suppose it is better to be aware of it than not.
:-)
Reply:Well, I DID get this off the good ole WP, but I'll "layman" it for you.
It's a trend in web design where social networking has become the forefront amongst applications. A second generation, so to speak.
Rich internet apps, mainly those using Flash, Ajax, and other such language are prevalent here.
Of course, it means different things to different people, but that's my version of it.
|%26lt; () |\| () |-| /-\
Reply:Web2 is about several things. Avoiding the techie end of what makes it possible is, it makes the web easier for regular folks to use and take hold of.
You can create pages. A blog is an example of a page you can create, easily, without knowing any html or programming. (Further, with blogger.com, for example, you COULD, but don't HAVE to, get persnickety, and get behind the scenes, and diddle with the techie stuff!)
You and your friends can create a network of pages. You share pages. Social networking. You share links. You can get notified when yer pal updates her/his page. You can set it up so all your pals are notified when they logon and your page(s) are updated. You can share links to other websites. You can get ongoing, real-time updates to the news. (You can find out, within five minutes, mebbe, when Hillary sneezes.)
And, don't forget, Yahoo! mail and Google Docs and Spreadsheets and stuff like that. You can use software online and store files there, without having to have it occupy space on your computer. (It's called, "the cloud".)
Reply:Web 2.0 websites allow users to do more than just retrieve information.Allowing users to run software-applications entirely through a browser.Users can own the data on a Web 2.0 site and exercise control over that data.
Web 2.0 encourages users to add value to the application as they use it.
Lol......that all was copied from wikipedia ....aint this layman's word? As matter of fact..........www.wikipedia.com itself is
great illustration of Web 2.0
others are
web blog,social networking websites(myspace/facebook),podcasts,RSS feeds,Forums.
In simple words web2.0 is all about
1.Ajax(i know its tough for layman to get it,yet its imp to ---------understand its part in web2.0)
Certainly Ajax, which I can still only just bear to use without scare quotes. 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.
2.2. Democracy
....................................
The second big element of Web 2.0 is democracy. We now have several examples to prove that amateurs can surpass professionals, when they have the right kind of system to channel their efforts. Wikipedia may be the most famous. Experts have given Wikipedia middling reviews, but they miss the critical point: it's good enough. And it's free, which means people actually read it.
The most dramatic example of Web 2.0 democracy is not in the selection of ideas, but their production. I've noticed for a while that the stuff I read on individual people's sites is as good as or better than the stuff I read in newspapers and magazines.
3. Handling the consequences of Democracy on internet(Don't Maltreat Users)
I think everyone would agree that democracy and Ajax are elements of "Web 2.0." I also see a third: not to maltreat users.
And not just in obvious ways, like making them register, or subjecting them to annoying ads. The very design of the average site in the late 90s was an abuse.I think the root of the problem was that sites felt they were giving something away for free, and till recently a company giving anything away for free could be pretty high-handed about it.
Under web 2.0
Never frame pages you link to, or open them in new windows. If you have a free version and a pay version, don't make the free version too restricted. And if you find yourself asking "should we allow users to do x?" just answer "yes" whenever you're unsure. Err on the side of generosity.
iTunes is Web 2.0ish in this sense. Finally you can buy individual songs instead of having to buy whole albums.
The ultimate way to be nice to users is to give them something for free that competitors charge for.
The ultimate target is Microsoft. What a bang that balloon is going to make when someone pops it by offering a free web-based alternative to MS Office. Who will? Google?
....LOL :)
The Common Thread
.........................................
Ajax, democracy, and not dissing users. What do they all have in common? The idea of delivering desktop-like applications over the web. That idea is almost as old as the web. But the first time around it was co-opted by Sun, and we got Java applets. Java has since been remade into a generic replacement for C++, but in 1996 the story about Java was that it represented a new model of software. Instead of desktop applications, you'd run Java "applets" delivered from a server.
This plan collapsed under its own weight. Microsoft helped kill it, but it would have died anyway.
Web 2.0 Rocks!!
Google was a pioneer in all three components of Web 2.0:Google doesn't try to force things to happen their way. They try to figure out what's going to happen, and arrange to be standing there when it does. That's the way to approach technology—and as business includes an ever larger technological component, the right way to do business.I appreciate that.
Hmm..i tried to be as layperson as much i could except while i use the word AJAX...Lol
Hope this will help you to understand Web 2.0 (or say..AJAX..hehe)
Cheers:)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment