13 Unqualified Descriptions About ‘Web 2.0′

After reading this features section concerning what is known as Web 2.0 from The Guardian, and well, after the whole Blogging 101 series thing took off, I started thinking about this whole Web 2.0 thing.

It fascinates me, really. In fact, I’m enamored by the Web sites this wave of innovation is sending my way. I’m loving discovering new sites that help me either (1) blog faster and better, or (2) do a lot of things faster and better and sometimes cheaper.

There also seems to be a lot of interest in it for the people who come here, comment, or email … so here’s some of my thoughts on Web 2.0’s contribution to the Internet world.

I should also note that what’s funny about this topic is that if you ask three people to give the definition of Web 2.0, you’ll likely get three different answers. (It’s kind of like if you ask three pastors or seminary students to define “postmodernism,” you’ll actually get SIX contrasting and contradictory definitions.)

But here are the 13 words and adjectives that come to my mind when I think about the term Web 2.0:

1. Personalization – Call this giving people “options,” whatever, people want their Web “their way.” And increasingly, the top sites are giving it to them on a platter. Google lets you personalize your own home page. For most companies, prosperity means personalization.

2. Community – Blogs in particular help gather people of like minds into communities that gather around particular Web sites to discuss, debate, laugh and, well, sometimes be flat out rude. But it’s about community and networking with each other virtually. The Internet’s version of cliques. Social networks like Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin are good examples of this.

3. Filtering – Have you noticed all the junk on the Internet? Think: SPAM for the Web. You’ve been to those ridiculous sites that flash neon colors just to get your attention. Junk. A lot of junk exists on the Internet. Web 2.0 sites seem to be trying to help filter out the garbage. Good content (I use “good” loosely) can rise to the top via sites like del.icio.us or digg.com. Internet surfers “edit the news” and help filter junk from valuable.

4. Push-button convenience – also known as “easy.” The sites I love are making it easier for me to “do the web.” I remember a time when my bookmark list was a mile long and really forgotten about. Then del.icio.us stepped in and made it a neat “push button” and site that I could reference and even search. WOW! I love it. Check my bookmark list out. As of today, I have 1,200 links in it. Also, see: Bloglines, NewsGator, Feedburner, Blogger.

5. Democracy – This is a term used widely on the Web for letting the people vote, in essence, on what content is good and what is not. We the people … select good, better, and best. And collectively, we vote on those things. I think it also means “freedom” too. But maybe that’s more like “Personalization.”

6. Organization – Web 2.0 sites, some of the really successful ones anyway, are seeking to help us organize our lives and especially our virtual ones.

7. Participation – Ref. blogs here again. Blogs are the new bulletin boards and forums of past. Ask the purists and they’ll tell you that blogs are meant to be two-way conversations. Readers are invited to be participants. Check the biggest news sites and they’re also allowing people to weigh in on the articles posted. Polls, surveys, comment functions, chat widgets – all designed for participation and interactivity.

8. Expression – I love blogs in that they lower the bar for what it takes to create web pages and sites. With blogs, in particular, everyone can reveal their innermost thoughts. They can express themselves and their “life art.” This also just isn’t limited to text … see sites like YouTube for video and Flickr for photos. And expression includes confession: PostSecret (caution before clicking) and MySecrets.tv (a church confessional site).

9. Multimedia – Some of the biggest, most popular sites are all about music, video and photos. That term’s probably overused enough to be bland, but it’s what I think about on the Web 2.0 topic.

10. Humor – Have you been forwarded a funny clip from YouTube yet? Just wait. You’ll get one soon enough. Humor is a ripe subject on the Web. The right joke, clip, image will circle the globe in milliseconds. And humor is big business.

11. Discovery – Sites like StumbleUpon are incredible for discovering great stuff, with a thumbs up or thumbs down rating system tailored just for you. The del.icio.us popular page is also one of my favorite places for discovering great stuff.

12. Utility – aka “cool tools.” And most of them are free! These are the utility sites that offer products and services that give you function for doing things.

13. Free – Yes, I just mentioned this, but it’s worth its own entry. One thing though I love about Web 2.0 is that most of it is free. The appeal obviously is that for more function or better service you should upgrade to a paid plan, but still … there’s a lot for free. Of course, the funny thing is businesses still need to make a profit. And frankly, I don’t begrudge sites for wanting to make a profit. Someone has to keep the lights on. But I’m seeing more and more companies seeking out indirect ways to make money. Why did Google buy YouTube? Those text links that are their bread and butter … not the videos.

***

OK, these are just my thoughts on Web 2.0 that I scribbled on a piece of paper – Gasp! Paper?! – and elaborated on them using this cool program called WordPress (Free, Utility). I’m sure someone will correct me through the comments on this post (Participation, Community) or choose to blog about it on their own site (Expression).

Now, it’s up to you, whether or not you want this to be bookmarked (Filtering, Push-button Convenience), which is really like voting (Democracy). And if you liked this post, subscribe to my email newsletter (Free) … or not. (But you would have gotten this post about 2-3 weeks ago.)

***

By the way, it takes a blog village to raise a blogger. I’m a student of many sites that most likely helped contribute to these descriptions. If they agree with these unworthy observations, then I thank them. If not, I’m the village idiot. And I apologize for missing the boat!

Related Post: On Leverage

December 11, 2006 · Filed Under Web 2.0

Get church marketing ideas, tips and more
by subscribing to the Church Communications Pro Email Newsletter



Subscribe to My Site Feed

Read More Posts Like This One:

Comments

Leave a Reply