Transcript Student_Presentation_Jason_Nikolai

Web 2.0:
What is it? Is it a Novel Technology?
Created by
Jason Nikolai
COMS 6125 – Web-Enhanced Information
Contents

Why I Chose Web 2.0
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What is Web 2.0?
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Characteristics of Web 2.0
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Web 2.0 Applications
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Web 2.0 Tools
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Web 2.0 Technologies
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Is Web 2.0 a Novel Technology?
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Why I Chose Web 2.0

In the past year, I’ve seen a number of projects with the key word
“Web 2.0” in the description

I wasn’t aware of any new standards or technologies that were termed Web
2.0


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A Google search didn’t reveal a new “Web 2.0” Standard
I used my paper as an opportunity to dig into this “buzzword”

Did I miss the next big technology trend?

Or, did brilliant marketing people over hype a new term?
What is Web 2.0?

A “buzzword” with MANY definitions

The various definitions ranged

Business Models
 Specific Technologies
 User Interface on the Web


There isn’t a single agreed upon definition of Web 2.0
My definition of “Web 2.0”
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A World Wide Web application that offers a service in which users participate,
information is shared, content is dynamic and the users are the focus of the
application

The key point of “Web 2.0” is the users
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Without a contributing user base, there isn’t a Web 2.0 application
Characteristics of Web 2.0 Applications (1)
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Dynamic Content
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Content gathered from multiple sources in real time and assembled on a
single Web page
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User contributed, user driven content
Granular addressability of content

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Users access only those parts of the applications they want at the time they
want it
Openness

Exposure of public application programming interfaces (APIs)

Other applications can leverage and integrate their functionality
Characteristics of Web 2.0 Applications (2)

Perpetual beta


The product is developed in the open, with new features slipstreamed in on
an ongoing basis
Rich user experience

Arguably better-designed, more intuitive, and more user-friendly graphical
user interface
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Cleaner interface, one that is not excessively crowded with links

Bringing the experience of the desktop into the browser from both a graphical
and usability point of view

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User participation
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One example is the ability to drag and drop within Web 2.0 applications
Users communicate with other users instead of producers creating content
that is consumed by the user community
Web 2.0 Applications (1)
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Corporate Applications
Blogs
and Wikis are starting to move into businesses as a simpler
and lightweight way to do collaboration
By
using organizational blogs, social bookmarks and people-tags,
the social interaction between employees is promoted

del.icio.us
A social
bookmarking site that allows people to share their
bookmarks, comment on them, and tag them
Tags
allow users to essentially vote on the topics they think are
most applicable to a particular web page and that information is
shared with other users

Flickr
Flickr
is an online photo management and sharing application
Flickr
offers custom feeds so that users can be notified of new
personalized content
A rich
set of APIs is available so that third party developers can
incorporate Flickr content into applications
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Web 2.0 Applications (2)
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Google Maps
Google
Maps is a mapping application by Google and has
become an emblem for a Web 2.0 application
Richer
client experience (dynamically updated)
API
that allows outside developers to incorporate Google
Maps into third party applications
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Wikipedia
Wikipedia
is a free, online encyclopedia that is edited by its
users
Users
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are the producers as well as the consumer of content
Web 2.0 Tools (1)
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Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX)
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Technology that allows dynamic replacement and updating of parts of a
web page without requiring a full page refresh from the server
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
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Provide a language for defining style (such as font, size, color, spacing,
etc.) for web documents
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Enables richly styled elements which can be explicitly placed on pages
Flash Animation Software

Flex

A proprietary server-side product with an accompanying design studio desktop
product
 It allows artists and graphic designers to assemble web pages in the graphical
studio environment, and then translate the controls into animations that run in
Flash

Laszlo

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Laszlo is the other technology, which directly competes with Flex along the
same design process from a technical perspective
Web 2.0 Tools (2)
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Iterative programming languages
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In order to quickly develop new features and run a perpetual beta,
programming languages that allow for iterative development are crucial to
create Web 2.0 applications
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Traditional languages may be too heavy weight for the agile development
model used for most Web 2.0 applications
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
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Web APIs allow third parties to integrate content from Web 2.0
applications into new applications and potentially provide new services
Web 2.0 Technologies (1)
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Blogs
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A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web
pages, and other media related to its topic
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The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an
important part of blogs
Mash-ups
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Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feeds
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A mash-up is a web application that combines data from more than
one source into a single integrated tool
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds allow users to link not just to a
page, but to subscribe to it with notification every time that content
changes
Web 2.0 Technologies (2)
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Tagging

Tagging (also known as “folksonomy”) is the practice and method of
collaboratively creating and managing tags to annotate and categorize
content

Tagging is a form of resource sharing, which allows users to share
their favorite Web links and other resources by using user defined
words called tags
Wikis

A wiki is a web application that allows the easy creation and
modification of content directly through a web browser using a simple
markup language
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Intended to promote group collaboration and thus participation, which
is a key principle of Web 2.0
Is Web 2.0 Novel Technology?
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A definition of “Novel Technology”
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The practical application of knowledge in a particular area that is new and not
resembling something formerly known or used
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The key characteristics of Web 2.0 are dynamic content, granular
addressability of content, openness, perpetual beta, rich user experience,
and user participation
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Novelty Analysis
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Dynamic Content
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Granular addressability of content

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Web 2.0, dynamic content can be integrated into a web site nearly seamlessly using tools like
AJAX and more modern browsers
Although the user experience has improved, the concept of dynamic content is not new
Allows users to subscribe to only the content of interest
Better search engines and tagging have improved the user experience for locating desired
content
In the past, news groups have provided the capability to subscribe to information and although
searching has improved, the concept has been around long before Web 2.0
Is Web 2.0 Novel Technology?
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Novelty Analysis (Continued)
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Openness
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Perpetual beta
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The concept of having a perpetual beta is not new; Microsoft and other firms have
employed beta testing strategies with external customers for decades
Rich user experience

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From a technical perspective, exposing an API presents nothing new or novel
The user experience of Web 2.0 applications is arguable better than predecessor
applications
HTML, JavaScript, and XML all pre-date the Web 2.0 concept and by themselves
are not new
User participation

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The idea of using the Web for interaction between people is what the World Wide
Web has always been about
It was designed to be a collaborative space where people can interact
Users have participated in Web applications before Web 2.0
–
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Amazon.com has allowed users to write reviews and consumer guides since its launch in
1995, in a form of self-publishing
Conclusion
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Web 2.0 IS NOT Novel Technology
 The technology components of Web 2.0 have existed since the early
days of the Web
 The purpose of the Web has always been to connect people together,
Web 2.0 simply makes the Web arguably easier to use
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Web 2.0 IS a new way of utilizing existing standards, protocols,
and technologies that is more user-focused and is arguably a
step forward in Web design
References / Acknowledgements
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Presentation based on paper
 Web 2.0: What is it? Is it a Novel Technology?
 Written by Jason Nikolai
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