Andrew Powell's Flex, Java, ColdFusion, and AJAX Blog

Jun 8Web 2.0 Is Not About Technology

Anyone who knows me, knows that I despise the term "Web 2.0". It's not that I think it's a bad idea, I think that people get it wrong. Web 2.0 is not about the technologies, it's about the experience.

People who say that they can develop Web 2.0 applications by simply using Flex, Flash, or AJAX are not wrong, but they're not right either. These technologies are nothing new. XML is over 10 years old. Javascript is over 13 years old. The Flash player is over 12 years old (Granted, Flex is relatively younger, but it's all Flash). These things are obviously not new to the web. Why then, are people so fascinated by "Web 2.0"? Is all just marketing hype that we've fallen victim to, or is something more substantial?

While the technology itself is not new, the way that developers are leveraging these technologies to enhance the overall experience of the user is something on a level not seen before. This is where we get Rich Internet Applications (RIA). RIAs are simply user interactions and interfaces that have evolved as these technologies have matured. What we are seeing now is the fruit of over a decade of evolution of technology on the Web. The good news is that we're only at the beginning.

That being said, where do we go from here if it's all about the experience? I think that in a few years, we will see that web browsers, as we know them, will be obsolete. Technologies such as Adobe's AIR are already breaking the RIA experience out of the browser. I also really believe that the trend we're seeing now in the rise social networks is only the beginning of a group effect on application design and execution. I think we're about to reach a point (if we're not already there) where the user community defines the experience as a collective. Application design and function is already becoming much more organic and community driven. At some point we are going to see the user communities just take over and define the experience. When that happens and catches on, you can say you're Web 3.0

Comments

Great post. It reminds of the Clay Shirky presentation at Web 2.0 Expo where he talks about cognitive surplus and "looking for the mouse." http://video.google.com/videosearch?client=safari&rls=en-us&q=clay%20shirky&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv#

Will Boyd
06/08/08 9:39 PM

Great post. Though I disagree that web browsers will be obsolete in as little as a few years. I think what we will see is that they will go back to being used for what they were intended... mostly-text, content-centered information applications. Lets not forget that they work much better than Flash Player (at least for now) at displaying that type of information.

Rob McKeown
06/09/08 9:13 AM

@Rob I think what we will see is a proliferation of applications that implement things like the WebKit Engine (AIR, etc) and render HTML via WebKit. This will be the end of the browser as we know it, though we will still render HTML.

Andrew Powell
06/09/08 10:10 AM

I also agree with this post. The key term about the web browser is "as we know it". Right now the browser is the hub of the internet experience. I see peoples "computers" being similar to that of the iPhone experience. Where there isn't a desktop- just a tab selection of Apps.

Alan
06/09/08 10:29 AM

Well said

Bill
06/09/08 6:14 PM

I agree; I have hated the term "Web 2.0" since it first walked on the scene. Especially if someone touts that they can create a Web 2.0 app.

It isn't a technology, it's where society and technology meet. It's the interface between the two, the interface between technologies and the interface between each other.

MCG
06/09/08 7:03 PM