So what is this Web 2.0 all about??
The dotcom bust of year 2001 proved to be a turning point for the web. Industry, Academia, VCs and Analysts concluded web to be another over-hyped industry revolution with resulting shakeouts being de-facto of any technology revolution. This shakeout unlike other industry shakeouts has shown its strength and has moved brick by brick unleashing the huge potential web can offer as a collaboration platform.
The result we all have seen with growth of services like Flickr, Blogs, Wiki, YouTube, Skype, Picnik, youOS, Rememberthemilk, BitTorrent, Tagging, Podcasting etc which most of us are subscriber in one way or another.
"Web 2.0" concept began with a conference brainstorming session between O'Reilly and MediaLive International. Dale Dougherty, web pioneer and O'Reilly VP, noted that far from having "crashed", the web was more important than ever, with exciting new applications and sites popping up with surprising regularity.
Gone are the days when users were restricted with dialup and slow internet connections. With the wide adoption of broadband and high processing abilities of laptops and PCs users are looking for more interactive and rich content then ever before. Organizations are changing their internet strategies via Web 2.0 to leverage from these technology advancements. Some of the major trends noticed in last couple of years are:
- 70% of US households had broadband connectivity by end of 2006.
- More than 40% of online purchases happen because customers use search engines.
- Cutting edge companies like Google, Yahoo, Nike and others are launching rich interactive websites that use AJAX, Video and other new interactive technologies, which are attracting customers away from their competitors.
- User generated content, in the form of user reviews, blogs and tags, is beginning to have tremendous impact on product perception and product purchases, and finally
- Professional Open-source solutions, such as Google Enterprise Solutions, Content Management Systems and Dashboards, have begun to provide low-cost and reliable alternatives.
Web 2.0 solutions address the challenges of not only time to market but data availability and security also which so far prevented organizations from using web-centric applications for tasks like trading and settlements. Solutions based on Web 2.0 provide accessibility to instant data and are always hooked to enterprise knowledgebase resulting in accurate and reliable data using which key business decisions can be made.
The web within 15 years has grown from a group work tool for scientists at CERN into a global information space with more than a billion users. Currently, it is both returning to its roots as a read/write tool and also entering, through the power of the six big motivating factors, a new, more social, community and participatory phase. But where will it go next? Although Web 2.0 is barely off the ground, some are already beginning to ask: What will Web 3.0 look like?
