A month ago, I came up with my definition of what I think Web 2.0 is: according to me, the Web 2.0 is what the Internet is right now. But I hadn’t (on purpose) looked at the Web 2.0 from a more technical viewpoint.
In the following video, a very popular one at the moment on the Internet, the Web 2.0 is defined as such: in the early beginnings of the Internet, content and format used to have strong ties as both were embedded together between static HTML tags.
Slowly, some new elements appeared (namely XML tags) allowing to manipulate data independently from format. Indeed, content could be parsed (the technical way of exporting) onto any web page using its own layout. XML hence facilitates automatic data exchange and hence collaboration between different interfaces. Web services like mash-ups were born. However, the Internet still had to be organized, and alongside with Google appeared content storage and sharing websites such as YouTube and Flickr.
One way to organize information (until video and picture search technologies mature) is to tag information. Everytime one adds a tag to an object, or a hypertext link on an expression, the web, a huge network of machines put up by humans, is being taught something (theory retrieved from this eye opening article published on Wired in August 2005: “We are the Web” – highly recommended).
Machines learning means a new paradigm is to emerge – which will help redefine a few things such as privacy, ethics, aesthetics, love, intellectual property, commerce. In the end, the author of the theory, a research assistant from Kansas State University named Michael Wesch (by the way, good job with the video Michael, it’s brillant), advocates that Web 2.0 is linking people trading, sharing, collaborating. And to make the connection with my own definition, this is what the Internet is about today.
Nice video!
Comment by Rupert Schiessl — February 9, 2007 @ 11:12
I still follow your posts, Jeremy. You mean you don’t follow mine and didn’t see my post of the same video?
Yes, when XML came out I realized its vast (as yet largely unrealized) potential. The utility RSS is just one of its applications, and we’ll see a world of structured content and the ability for it to connect in novel ways as we progress. Ultimately I see it running on a distributed P2P network (my answer to the privacy and resources questions). I’ll leave the comment short for now.
Keep sharing. On, and one suggestion I’ve been meaning to make: shorten the post titles! Wow, they’re long and unnecessary but mainly my newsreader cuts them off.
Best from NYC,
–Dave
Comment by DaveNotik — February 9, 2007 @ 20:09
Hey Dave,
Long time no see. I just checked your blog and indeed, the video’s there: but who hasn’t watched it really? Sorry I hadn’t read your blog in a while, and I wouldn’t have read this post if so as I don’t like repeating posts seen elsewhere (unless I have something value adding to say).
But you’re back into my blogroll so I’ll go and visit it more often.
Thanks for the feedback by the way, I’ll make sure I shorten my post titles from now on.
Take care and see you soon hopefully (I miss NYC),
Jeremy
Comment by Jeremy Fain — February 9, 2007 @ 21:40
Nice Video, may be i’ll suggest to J-Sebastien and Booba to show it when we will present our slides for “seminaires”, i’ve to say that we are researching for the WEB 2.0 and its influences on users…
Comment by josephcargo — February 10, 2007 @ 03:13
Indeed Youssef, you should definitely suggest Booba & Jean-Séb to have a look at Tech IT Easy!
Comment by Jeremy Fain — February 10, 2007 @ 11:26