Web 2.0 - The geek speaks

Alright as promised here I am with the geeky version of web 2.0, the new internet thingy. Don't worry i m not a geek.. so I'll explain only the basics. This is regarding the workshop i took last week on web 2.0.

So web 2.0 is not a technology but a concept.. it not like just another web technology which comes almost every month. This term was introduced in a seminar by O'Really and is considered to be the next generation of websites. Now internet and websites are no longer viewed just as a network but is now acting as a platform. Web2.0 is based on the "architecture of participation". The concept highlights the importance of users as the providers of content so as to get a remixed and enriched content by the users themselves. So users have changed from consumers to contributers.

Now the content need not be only provided by geeks but by the common man. Web 2.0 focuses on dynamic sites backed by large databases which keep on growing with time. So this concept is not to change the technology but to change the people.. The mentality of people and society should be changed instead of technology... Content is the key element and not the design or technology. Its the data that they want and not the user interfaces. So no matter what technology is used web2.0 concept is applicable to all.

Web 2.0 not only includes quality content provided by the users but it is also a mixture of rich internet applications and interactive user interfaces. Thus websites like pixenate (online photo editor) and google docs also come under web 2.0 tag. These websites harness the power of Javascript to improve the users experience.. Majority of the tasks are performed on the browser (client) itself and thus server side scripting is not the major issue..

So to get going with developing first web 2.0 application all you need to know is basic html and one of the server side technology plus a good knowledge of client side technology like javascript. Rest depends on our imagination.. how far can one think of! and as the Idea people say "an idea can change your life...