Web 2.0: Just New Names for Old Technologies
Web 2.0 is all the rage these days. In the last blog entry we went back to the source (O'Reilly, what is Web 2.0?) to define what it really means. In his explanation, Tim O'Reilly provided some specific examples of concepts and technologies from the "old" Web and how they've been reincarnated as the "new" Web:
Some of O'Reilly's comparisons are a bit of a stretch, but if you look closely, you have to agree that a lot of Web 2.0 is just applying fancy new names to established technologies.
| Web 1.0 | Web 2.0 | |
|---|---|---|
| DoubleClick | --> | Google AdSense |
| Ofoto | --> | Flickr |
| Akamai | --> | BitTorrent |
| mp3.com | --> | Napster |
| Britannica Online | --> | Wikipedia |
| personal websites | --> | blogging |
| evite | --> | upcoming.org and EVDB |
| domain name speculation | --> | search engine optimization |
| page views | --> | cost per click |
| screen scraping | --> | web services |
| publishing | --> | participation |
| content management systems | --> | wikis |
| directories (taxonomy) | --> | tagging ("folksonomy") |
| stickiness | --> | syndication |
Some of O'Reilly's comparisons are a bit of a stretch, but if you look closely, you have to agree that a lot of Web 2.0 is just applying fancy new names to established technologies.
The point is that rather than getting caught up in the new terminology, to effectively incorporate these ideas, look at what they really are and what benefits they offer—like better ways to connect with customers, faster development cycles, and getting your message out to the world as efficiently as possible.
- RSS is Really Simple Syndication. "Syndication" of content on the Web has been around since XML was created.
- Wikis are based on server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web content using an entry form in a browser. The concept of a user-generated knowledge bases like this is not new.
- Blogs are similar to Wikis, in that they are just another way of using browser-based authoring tools to post your thoughts, opinions, or activities. The technology behind blogs is basic CMS functionality that originated back in the mid '90s.
- Mash-ups are akin to a longtime practice called screen scraping-"borrowing" content from other sites (for example maps, or news, or data) and combining it with your own content to create a unique Web experience.
