To Web 2.0 or Not

Group Members
Mai Tran

Willie Williams

Trevor Steckly

Stephanie Wong

Problem Statement
Technology: Web 2.0

Issue: Web 2.0 is a new, emerging term and only those web-wise individuals understand what it means. The issue at hand is to understand what Web 2.0 entails and how it effects society and the people.

Definition
Web 2.0 describes a change in the web economy that allows new ways of interaction between users through websites and services.

Structure
When we talk about the structure of Web 2.0 we are talking about the structure of our current Web design.

Web as a Platform
The structure of Web 2.0 can be described by the phrase “Web as a Platform”.

“Web as a Platform” is a principle that Tim O’Reilly and John Battelle introduced at the first Web 2.0 conference.

There are a few things that will help describe what is meant by this ‘platform’ structure, as listed below:

The ‘platform’ design is used to describe Web 2.0 structure as something without barriers to contain possibilities. It is seen as having a “home base” from which all Web applications are connected but no outer walls to limit possibilities.

To get an idea of what Web 2.0 would look like we can examine the composition of our solar system as an example. The sun at the center keeps all the planets and objects within a specific field as far as the gravitational pull extends. The Web’s platform, like the sun, keeps all the web applications connected in specific areas, with no limit on the growth of the web.

On his website Tim O’Reilly writes, “Web 2.0 doesn’t have a hard boundary, but rather, a gravitational core”, to describe the web structure.

As Web 2.0 is continually evolving through user participation, the web infrastructure will be continually changing and growing.

Characteristics
The characteristics of Web 2.0 can be broken down into the following categories:

Users can manipulate and control the data on the site

Rich Internet Applications

Social Networking

Enhanced Graphical Interfaces

Users can manipulate and control the data on the site
By enabling users to control what they want on their sites, it has opened gateways for sites such as calagryplanet.com, myspace.com and many other blogging and information sites. These sites allow users to place whatever content they wish for the public to see and enables them to share information with the rest of the world. They can change this information on a daily basis and continually contribute their knowledge and information with the rest of the users.

Rich Internet Applications
A characteristic that further divides Web 2.0 from the older Web 1.0 is the application in which users do not need to continually refresh the page that they are on. The whole page or a portion of the page will be refreshed automatically. Common applications such as webmail, online auctions and multi-player online role-playing games are examples of the various applications that Web 2.0 has developed. With rich internet application techniques such as JavaScript, Adobe Flash, Ajax, etc., users are able to immediately access data without interrupting the behaviour of their existing pages.

Social Networking
Applications such as Facebook or YouTube have allowed users to place information from one end of the world to be seen by the other end. Web 2.0 has allowed for almost instantaneous communication between people all over the globe. We are now able to communicate with people that we never could have possibly met before with Web 1.0, where only information was provided with no interaction. Now with Web 2.0, there are sites where people can be paired off with those with similar interests, hobbies and activities. People are building online relationships and participating in chat forums, users are building interactive worlds for role-playing games.

Media has also used Web 2.0 to further communicate with those that are too busy to pick up a newspaper or watch the daily news, instead submitting articles daily to provide users with knowledge and awareness. Businesses are making use of video conferences, audio conferences, multi-person online meetings to expand their vast empires and communicate with other businesses that they might not have been able to do so before.

Enhanced Graphical Interfaces
Back with Web 1.0, graphics were mainly 2D, with the emergence of 2.0, graphics are now more advanced than ever. Rounded corners, enhanced pixels are all perks of Web 2.0, allowing for applications such as multi-player games and animations to become more realistic.

Webpage designs have also been given the chance to become more sophisticated, detailed and interactive. With gradients, WebPages can now convey mood, atmosphere and aerial distance for better user experience and enhanced marketing techniques. They have allowed for pictures to gain depth and rid itself of the flatness and dullness that goes hand-in-hand with no gradients. Shadows, reflections and all sorts of other enhanced graphical interfaces are all part of what makes up Web 2.0.

Users can also add icons onto their WebPages, such as cute rabbits skipping across the page or a tree blowing in the wind. With enhanced graphical interfaces, also comes along an easier user experience, allowing users to be more comfortable in viewing pictures in high-resolution and experience enhanced quality in color.

User Behaviors/User 2.0
The creation of Web 2.0 now brings with it a variety of worldwide user behaviors. Not only can users now look up information on the web, but they can now always create their own domains as well as alter others with the ability provided to add or subtract information that the user feels would be beneficial to others. This new form of user in the web world is now known as User 2.0.

Marketing
One of the widely spread behaviors of web 2.0 is the ability to use it and it’s features for promoting and conducting business, advertisements, and many other forms of marketing.

As consumers, how do many of you find out how much something is going to cost you without leaving your house on a snowy day? Or better yet, those nice pair of pants or that new video game that you so badly want is sold out in stores but you really want them, what other way would you go about purchasing them?

Advantages
Mass Media- Now your favorite newspaper, magazine, radio station, etc. is just a click away

Inventing the New Television- With the creation on web 2.0 users can now access missed television shows, videos, movies, etc.

Disadvantages
COUCH POTATOES- Not many users actually participate in adding content

Advantages and Disadvantages
Web 2.0 has become an ever increasingly popular term these days, especially among those web-wise individuals. There are those who are in great favor of Web 2.0, while there are others who think that this technology will do more harm than good to society.

Advantages:
The numerous advantages of Web 2.0 include benefits in the classroom, benefits for the business, promoting interaction between family and friends and the access and availability of information anytime.

In the Classroom
Web 2.0 has been found to be valuable for students in the classroom when using Web 2.0 technologies such as wikis, blogs and social networking sites. The benefits that the school and teachers found were that it encouraged engagement and participation among the students in the classroom, where the quieter students did not have to raise their hands to ask or answer a question, reducing their anxiety. As well, it allows for more expression through other forms of media (such as video), and it encourages the students to pay more attention to detail, thus improving their overall quality of work. Other benefits include the use of social networking technologies to allow for the class discussions to continue outside the classroom and since it is available at all time, it encourages further learning for the student. Lastly, the benefit of Web 2.0 in the class is that it provides some information into the habits of young people.

For Businesses
Web 2.0 is also beneficial for businesses in that it connects people who are involved in the company together. The use of social networking allows for the creation of relationships between the staff and client, as well as connecting and creating relationships between the employees to form a sense of community and knowing. Other advantages of is allowing for business contacts to connect with each other through Web 2.0 technologies such as LinkedIn and Viadeo.

Promotes Social Interactions and Communication
This new technology also promotes an individual’s interaction with their friends and family around the globe. With the technologies of Web 2.0, such as Facebook and Myspace, the users are able to create, control and post their personal information online. Also, it allows for the easy exchange of views, experiences, recipes, thoughts and comments from one person to another. Other benefits include posting photos, guest books, travel plans and life stories. All of this allows family and friends to keep in touch with each no matter the distance

Access and Availability of Information
With Web 2.0, information is easily and quickly accessible anytime of the day and as a result the content viewed can be edited whenever and wherever is convenient for the user. As well, information can be obtained from multiple sources and so the general population will be more informed about what is going on in the world around them. This in turn will allow the general population to make better decisions around them. An example of this would be online newspapers, where one can view newspapers from the different countries around the world. This allows the user to view events from more than one perspective and keeps them informed of the happenings of the world.

Disadvantages
Like any other new and emerging technology, there are advantages as well as disadvantages. The criticisms of Web 2.0 are of dependence, security and idea that Web 2.0 is nothing at all.

Dependence
The first criticism of Web 2.0 is that some people will become heavily dependent on the Internet. Critics wonder what will happen when the connection goes down and users are unable to access the information that they have come to depend on and use on a daily basis. With this, there is also the idea of the “paperless” office, in which all information regardless of its importance is kept on file in the computer’s hard drive. These critics believe that this is a dangerous trend. What will happen when the hard drive crashes and a back up was not done? All the months and years of work and information is lost forever. The critics believe that certain information and documents are better in the hard copy form.

Security
Another criticism of Web 2.0 is its security feature. Since many of the web services that are provided are free of charge, the information that users provide and obtain will have limited security. Due to this limited security, these services will be easily targeted by hackers.

Web 2.0 is Meaningless
Another criticism of Web 2.0 is that it is meaningless. The critics argue that Web 2.0 is meaningless because no one knows for sure what it means. There are too many definitions of Web 2.0 that exists. Web 2.0 has been described by some critics as a “piece of jargon” or “electronic junk.”

Conclusion
The overall effect that Web 2.0 has on society is a positive one.

Through Web 2.0, users are able to interact with people they have never met before, expanding their social networks and finding those that have similar interests to them. It has allowed users to gain information while giving them an opportunity to contribute to their own knowledge. And last, but not least, the user’s efficiency in completing everyday tasks has increased, minimizing the time and effort required.

Mai Tran
1. Bectra Report Shows Benefits of Web 2.0 in the Classroom: http://news.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=38417

2. Web 2.0: Benefits, policy, and who’s responsibility: http://www.changeboard.com/hrcircles/blogs/editor/archive/2008/03/03/web-2-0-understand-the-benefits.aspx

3. Benefits of Web 2.0 Applications: http://ezinearticles.com/?Benefits-of-Web-2.0-Applications&id=1455149

4. Web 2.0: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

5. Ten Ways to Take Advantage of Web 2.0: http://web2.socialcomputingmagazine.com/ten_ways_to_take_advantage_of_web_20.htm

6. Advantages and Disadvantages of Web 2.0: http://www.exforsys.com/tutorials/web-2.0/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-web-2.0.html

7. Web 2.0: http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Web_2.0

8. Advantages and Disadvantages of Web 2.0: http://melanie1987.wordpress.com/2007/09/13/50/

9. Defining Web 2.0: http://blogs.zdnet.com/SAAS/?p=209&tag=rbxccnbzd1

10. Benefits of Web 2.0 Applications: http://ezinearticles.com/?Benefits-of-Web-2.0-Applications&id=1455149

Willie Williams
1.	Nussbaum On Design: Most Web 2.0 Users Are Really Just Couch Potatoes: http://www.businessweek.com

2.	New Communication Behaviors in A Web 2.0 World: Focus on Advertising: http://www.next-generation-communications.tmcnet.com

3.	General Web User Behavior: http://www.seomoz.org

4.	Online Marketing in China. SEO: http://www.my-life-in-china.com/tag/user-behavior/

5.	Social Networks, E-mail and User Behavior: http://www.virtualwayfarer.com

6.	Web 2.0 Social Behavior of Internet Users, Robert Kittinger: http://www.auburnmedia.com/pdf/kittinger_web_2.0.pdf

7.	Library Web Chic- Archive for the ‘Web 2.0’ Category: http://www.librarywebchic.net/wordpress/category/web-20/

8.	The Hive Mind: Folksonomies and User-Based Tagging: http://www.infotangle.blogsome.com/2005/12/07/the-hive-mind-folksonomies-and-user-based-tagging/

9.	Presentations: Marketing and Community: Web 2.0 Expo: http://en.oreilly.com/webexsf2008/public/schedule/presentations/marketing%20and%20Community

10.	Radical Behavior- Josh Kenzer’s blog about Web 2.0: http://www.radialbehavior.com/

Trevor Steckly
1.What is Web 2.0? http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

2.Picture of Web 2.0: http://tangyslice.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/800px-web_2_0_map_svg.png?w=400&h=300

3. The Essential Elements of Web 2.0: http://content.zdnet.com/2346-9595_22-10672.html

4. Visualizing Web 2.0: http://web2.socialcomputingmagazine.com/visualizingweb20.htm

5. A Checkpoint on Web 2.0 in the Enterprise: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Hinchcliffe/?p=130

6. Web 2.0: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

7. Web 2.0: What is it All About: http://www.masey.com.au/blog/index.php/2005/12/web-20-whats-it-all-about/

8. Talk: Web 2.0: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Web_2.0

9. Web 2.0 Is About...: http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2005/10/13/web-20-is-about/

10. How to Survive and Thrive with Web 2.0: http://web2.socialcomputingmagazine.com/

Stephanie Wong
1. Web 2.0 Characteristics http://www.exforsys.com/tutorials/web-2.0/web-2.0-characteristics.html

2. The Internet as Intended http://kvoelker.blogsome.com/2006/02/24/web-20-characteristics/

3. Web 2.0 Characteristics, Applications, Conference, Tools http://www.roseindia.net/Technology-revolution/web2.0/Web%202.0%20Characteristics.shtml

4. Web 2.0- How to Design Guide http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/web-2.0-design-style-guide.php

5. Rich Internet Applications and Web 2.0 http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/2007/01/rich-internet-applications-and-web-20/

6. Where Rich Internet Applications Fit into Web 2.0 http://www.centernetworks.com/where-rich-internet-applications-fit-into-web-2-0

7. Intro to Web 2.0 http://www.squidoo.com/introtoweb20

8. 3 Key Elements of Web 2.0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-np8D1IkW2Q

9. Web 2.0 Characteristics http://bettydang.blogspot.com/2008/11/web-20-characteristics.html

10. Web 2.0 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

11. Picture http://www.freeiconsweb.com/Freeicons_big/creatures2_preview.jp