I’m writing this post after Leo Diaz wrote a comment in one of my recent posts, asking for a post dedicated to what Web 2.0 is. This post also comes quite on-time as Othaner Kasiyas, a blogger from my hometown Ocotlán, also wrote a post dedicated to the latest status of Web 2.0 in Mexico entitled “When Web 2.0 arrives to Mexico“.
Let me start by saying that “Web 2.0” is just a term used to identify a change in the way the Internet is used, and the development of some platforms that faciliated this change. So it’s not that someone released a new version of Internet, it’s just a way of putting a name after this revolution.
I don’t know if someone already said it like this, but I think that Web 2.0 is “the democratization of Internet” as it allowed the user to interact with web properties. Prior to Web 2.0, if you browsed through most of websites, you would notice that all you could do with them was just read the content and that’s basically it. There was no way that you could write something on them as only the owner or webmaster of such website could add content or make changes on it. I think a good example of these type of sites is the website I have for my personal resume, only I as the owner can make changes.
With Web 2.0 style websites, the things are different, depending on the platform they are built on, or the level of freedom the owner wants to grant to users, anyone can add content on them. For example, in this blog, I’m wrote this very same post I have here, but I have chosen to give any user, regardless it is registered or not, to write comments on any post, which expands and enrichs what I already wrote, so at the end, a blog is not only what I write but also what a lot of people comment on my posts. I could even let anyone register on my blog and become a writer but since this is my personal blog, I prefer to be the only writer in it.
Examples of Web 2.0 Websites
I think the first Web 2.0 style websites, were the sites that connected people that wanted to meet someone to date or get married. Those websites, facilitated that anyone registered as users, and then by just filling out their profiles and using such website as a communication platform, without realizing it, they were creating content and made the sites bigger and bigger.
So, it all began with dating websites, but down the road the Web 2.0 websites evolved to other type of websites as well. Here are a few examples of them:
1) Digg.com: This website allows anyone to submit news that they thought were interesting and once there, anyone can literally vote for the coolest news.
2) Flickr.com: By just registering as a user, you can upload photos and pictures and if you want you can share them with anyone.
3) YouTube.com: I guess this one needs no explanation.
4) FaceBook.com: Used to keep in touch with friends and meet people
By now the list of Web 2.0 style websites is pretty much endless as new websites are born, and some of them get specialized in very specific niches.
Web 2.0 Platforms that made the Revolution possible
The Web 2.0 would have been impossible if it wasn’t for the development of some platforms, some of them “Open Source” (which is means that is free). For example, this blog is made using an open source platform named “Wordpress“, the best platform if you want to start a blog. But depending of the type of website you want to build, there are other platforms, for example:
For Digg.com style websites, you could use Pligg.com
For a forum, you would use phpBB or something similar.
For a general type website, membership site or even online store you could use Joomla
Why we need to take advantage of Web 2.0?
By now, I guess you would start to realize that the real power of Web 2.0. The power comes from “Leverage” and that is the leverage of having a lot of users, creating content for you practically free + the added bonus of “Traffic” to your websites and as with Real Estate in the real world, traffic of people means money. Money that comes from publicity or commissions that you can get just by recommending a product to the crowd of avid users of these type of websites. Think of it as the effect that Oprah Winfrey causes when she recommends a product.
The future of Web 2.0
So far the revolution of Web 2.0 started and keeps growing in high developed countries, such as the United States and Europe, given the high degree of penetration of the Internet among the population. Just to give you an idea, the penetration of Internet usage in the U.S. is of over 80% whereas in Mexico is of around 20%, so this low penetration percentage, is one of the reasons why in Mexico we still haven’t seen a boom for Web 2.0, like there was in other countries.
However, Internet usage is growing very fast in countries of less developed countries so we should expect a second wave of Web 2.0 in these countries.
So there you have it, I hope this explanation of Web 2.0 was useful
