Web 2.0 is a Buzzword!
No Reason to Write Web 2.0 Off
- Buzzwords Have Their Uses
- Help define a complicated and nebulous set of concepts
- Eases communication
- Good for non-technical people
- Good way to promote a group of technologies
Web 2.0 is a State of Mind
Etymology of Web 2.0
- Term invented by Tim O'Reilly and Dale Dougherty
- Saw that many of today's successful companies shared a similar set of characteristics
- Very different approach from the dotcom companies of 2000
- Hence web 1.0 and web 2.0
Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0
- AltaVista vs. Google
- Hotmail vs. Yahoo Mail
- Ofoto vs. Flickr
- Mp3.com vs. iTunes
- Geocities vs. Blogger
- MapQuest vs. Google Maps
- Encarta vs. Wikipedia
- Netscape vs. Firefox
What Makes a Web 2.0 Application?
Open Data
- Open data formats
- No data lock-in or walled gardens
- User created data
- User owns their own data
- Ability to use data outside the confines of the application
- Data used across devices
Architecture of Participation
- Providing a service, not a product (infoware not software)
- Encourage user contribution (reviews, comments)
- Collective intelligence (PageRank, folksonomies, popularity)
- Make it easy to re-use and re-mix
- Customer self-service
- Community and sense of ownership
Rich User Experience
- Easy to use
- Pleasurable to use
- Build social networks
- Rich user interface
- Functions like a traditional application
Cool Web 2.0 Applications
OnOneMap
Netvibes.com
Backpackit.com
Meebo.com
Writely.com
Core Web 2.0 Technologies
- Open data through API's and web services
- RSS
- Ajax
- Web Standards (DOM Scripting, XHTML, CSS)
Where's the Revolution?
Industrial Revolution
- Steam Engine Invented by Heron of Alexandria in the 1st Century AD
- Used as a toy
- In 18th Century Britain, steam engines first used to power machinery
- Unique combination of technological, cultural and economic factors led to the Industrial Revolution
Web 2.0 Revolution
- Using existing technologies in new and innovative ways
- Change in the way people view the web
- More mature industry
- Healthier web economy
- Need to innovate just to maintain position
Exciting Time to be a Web Developer
- Sudden renewed energy on the web
- New apps popping up every week
- Big companies snapping up talent
- People investing in start-ups again
- Need for more UK start-ups?
A Word of Warning
- Starting to make the mistakes of 2000
- Usability, accessibility and standards being thrown out the window
- Thinking every problem has a technological solution
- Creating solutions where there isn't a problem
- Cool application, no business model
Is this Just Another Internet Bubble?
- More mature market
- More mature Web economy
- Subscription business model a reality
- People have learnt from the excesses of 2000
- Offers real and tangible benefits
Forget the Hype and Build Cool Stuff
What's Behind Web 2.0?
- The web is changing from a document delivery system to an application platform
The Web as a Platform
- Simplifies distribution
- Easy way of maintaining code
- Faster speed to market
- Share data across devices
- Subscription model vs. one off purchase
What Next?
- Ajax Applications
- Desktop Widgets (Dashboard, Konfabulator etc)
- Flex Applications
- OpenLazlo Applications
- XUL Applications
- Smart Clients and Avalon
Questions?