What Is Web 2.0

What is Web 2.0 ? It is something of a keyword among those who enjoy newer things. I will attempt to distill it into some bite-size chunks of information for you. Hopefully when you are through it will be clear that the answer to the question is simple! The topic of Web 2.0 is literally churning on the web. What will the future hold for Web 2.0 as a whole ? Read on as I predict the future of the premier change in the way computing is done soon, and continuing into the next few years.

Twitter.com. A relative newcomer to the Web 2.0 foray is starting something of a "cell-phone-myspace" type of service. You and your friends can be joined through the use of text messages, using Twitter.com. Twitter is using the Web 2.0 model in a very unique way, and one I like in particular because it is using mobile technology.

Web 2.0 will be fueled by mobile technology. If you have ever heard of "the mobile web", then you no doubt have also heard of mobile browsers, smart handheld computers, and the like. As these devices become commonplace, other devices will also be joined to the web using the Web 2.0 model. What type ? Well, microwaves, refrigerators, fax machines and so forth. Web 2.0 will more than likely be called something different by the time all electronic items become connected to the ever growing World Wide Web.

One of the most promising developments of the Web 2.0 change will be the way people work. The change will be subtle at first, and then more robust soon afterward. One example that people have already been using has not been classified under the Web 2.0 model but is nevertheless included ; internet based email. Yahoo! says theirs is best. MSN started with hotmail. Google joined in with their G-mail. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Soon, when a person wants to open up something similar to a Word or Excel document, they will not open up a program on their computer. As Web 2.0 unfolds, a person will open up a website, and start their work there, and save it. It will be opened, worked, and saved 100 % online. It becomes immediately available to all on the "network". The "network" will of course be the world wide web.

Security issues will arise with the advent of the Web 2.0 model. Having all work done online instead of inside a traditional setting will mean more jobs for internet security managers. A "local intranet" will not be nearly as "local" as it is today. As negative as it may sound, the Web 2.0 security issues will probably be addressed by governments, as the WWW becomes a "governed" institution.

Web 2.0 will more than likely be led by an international group, instead of just having Western influences. Currently those on the technological edge of all technology are in Europe and Asia. I see this trend continuing.

For a summary :

A overly simplified answer to the question, "What is Web 2.0" is : any application now done inside the computer will be done outside of it using the World Wide Web.