[LINK] RFC: Web 2.0

[Ivan Trundle]

On 23/11/2006, at 4:42 PM, Pilcher, Fred wrote:

> <snip>
> Do web 2 sites require different hardware? Different software? At  
> the server end? At the client end? Does it use different protocols?  
> Are there incompatibilities? Can I use web 1 and web 2 at the same  
> time? On the same computer? On the same network?
<snip>

1. No
2. No
3. No
4. No
5. No
6. Web2.0 services should be no more or less compatible than web1.0
7. Yes
8. Yes
9. Yes

Sorry Fred - it's hard to take any of this seriously. But then, I'm  
in a similar position to Linda - developing web-based services.  
Ultimately, the aim is to create better collaborative environments,  
and ones in which speed of connection is not a factor.

I'll stick my neck out and say that there are many collaborative  
websites out there which are flawed by being slow to load, slow to  
react, and genuinely give little indication that the visitor is part  
of any community, or in any position to make a mark on the activity.  
These are web1.0 spaces (though there are of course some 'web2.0'  
sites that fit this category)..

Web2.0 is now a highly-charged marketing space, and indeed a wet  
dream for some, but in reality is merely an extension of what many of  
us are trying to build (and have been trying to build) for many  
years. The only difference is the 'look and feel' for the visitor.

I've seen plenty to demonstrate that web2.0 is also minimalist,  
rounded corners on boxes, big buttons, sliding/hiding images and  
text, and reflections: this is the hype.

On the other side of the coin, I also see a better, simpler, more- 
intuitive interface for visitors to a website - one in which the  
environment can either be tailored to suit, or one in which the user  
has greater control over what goes on, and one in which the activity  
is joyful, not painful.

I could give countless examples, but a cursory prod with Google will  
find the best and the worst of web2.0.

Personally, I'm happy for people to discuss what is and what isn't  
web2.0 if only if delivers better, more intuitive, and more useful  
websites. The marketing mob can do whatever they like.

iT