Web2.0 : my start

I have created this blog for research into web2.0 technologies.

At this time in technological history, "web2.0" is the latest buzzword, and even if you don't know what it is, what it means, or what it does, the likelihood is that you are a user of it already.

Indeed, anybody that reads this page is a consumer of a web2.0 technology.
Let me explain...

Web2.0 is a means of gathering, displaying and sharing "collective intelligence" i.e. people, anywhere, anytime, from any background, reading and writing (or viewing and posting) articles, documents, notes and messages from or to a website.

Some familiar terms you may know already which are web2.0 technologies are :

- blogs
- wikis
- social networks and instant messaging
- RSS feeds
- podcasts

So, as you can see, by reading this page - my web log, or "blog" - you are already a consumer of a web2.0 technology.

Here's a brief description of each technology, with a few examples and references for further information :

* Blog

A blog (shortened from "web log") is an online journal, which allows people to use the web as a medium for posting their hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or even annual activities for the rest of the world to view.

This facility to publicise events from your personal life is in widespread use throughout the world, and provides many people a channel for sharing with their friends and family all the news from their life in a quick, easy way, and removes the need to send e-mails.

This tool was quickly harnessed by many businesses and mobile workers. For example, journalists reporting on international current affairs can reside in a foreign country, post to their blog, allowing web-users to log-on and read the latest news before a paper is printed the following day.

Blogs are entirely read-only, with web-users viewing the blog entries, unable to amend them, but able to post commented replies to each entry.
The blog entries are typically presented in a chronological date order, with links displayed on the page which group the entries by week, month, year, or even a combination of all three.

* Wiki

A wiki is a collaborative website where information can be posted, edited and managed by anybody with the appropriate access.

This tool is often used for information sharing and updating, where many users are invited to provide information about a topic, which other users can amend if necessary.

Wikis really become a powerful tool in a working environment when, for example, disparate teams or departments are required to come together to work on a new project.
All details relating to the project can be freely discussed, critical information verified and validated across the company, discussions and conversations initiated at anytime, by anybody (with appropriate access) from anywhere in the world.

* Social networks and instant messaging

The web used to be very "browse-read-move on", where most of the information being read by web-users was about companies, products, services, holiday destinations and the like.

Alongside this, if somebody wanted to communicate with somebody else, they had few choices : telephone, fax & mobiles, handwritten letters or e-mail.
Now, however, the web offers social networks and instant messaging clients.

Social networks allow people to create a profile, add photographs, music videos, personal information, lists of favourites, and connect to people with similar interests, from similar backgrounds, from the same hometown, county, country...or even random people they have never met and just stumbled on from an profile adverts page.

Instant messaging clientswhich allow users to see a list of contacts from their address book, their status (online, away, out for lunch, offline, etc), type a message to them in near-to-real time, and receive a response immediately.

* RSS feeds

With all of this information available throughout the web, it can be pretty overwhelming remembering which website it came from, where you met that person, who is going to where and such.

So, to make things a little easier for web-users, RSS (Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) feeds allow web-users to have what is essentially an updating news-ticker linking from their favourites websites (if the site supports this technology).

Any changes to the site or new information are automatically download to the web-users' computer with the topic headings, a short description and a link to the website.
The web-user can then click the link to go and review the changes, read, or even contribute, to the new information.

* Podcasts

Podcasts are very similar in principle to RSS feeds, but rather than focus on textual updates of a webpage or website, podcasts allow web-users to download video, music, audio files for transfer to their computer, or mp3 / mp4 player, to watch or listen to at a later time.
This is regularly seen on the underground tube network as commuters watch / listen to their mobile media players on their daily commute in to the office.

Many popular news, entertainment and infotainment channels now provide podcasts for their viewers to download to their mp3 / mp4 devices (iPods, mobile phones, etc), and often give a summary of the daily news, nuggets of information, or music audio and video clips.

Examples :

* Blogs
- http://www.blogger.com
- http://www.wordpress.com

* Wikis
- http://www.wikipedia.org
- http://www.citizendium.org

* Social networks and instant messaging
- http://www.facebook.com
- http://www.myspace.com
- http://uk.messenger.imagine-live.com/Messenger/Launch/en-GB/Default2.aspx?thisTour=
- http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/?wm=n

* RSS feeds
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/rss/default.stm

* Podcasts
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/directory/station/worldservice/