Of Web 2.0

Second post today because the previous one should have been in the weekend... haha.

So I've been looking up websites that are "web 2.0". Web 2.0 is just the next step in the evolution of the World Wide Web. It begins to incorporate things like communities, podcasts, social networks, etc.

Example sites are Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, you get the picture. However there are plenty of sites that take the idea of Web 2.0 alot further than just being social (without having to meet anyone).

People search engines are starting to appear, I know of two now. One that recently started is Spock. You can search a name or avatar and it should pull results from the web relating to the name you've put in.

Interactivity is another big area of Web 2.0. Google is one of the fore fronters of this with iGoogle. I suggest you have a play with it if you haven't already. It's practically a virtual desktop that you can stick loads of different widgets to. I personally have my G.Cal, Email, weather and several news feeds running. AJAX is beginning to shine as fantastic technology and will, I think, be employed in many different aspects of Web 2.0. There is even a website that builds an AJAX website for you!

There are even online word processors and spreadsheet programs on the net now. Most people will have heard of Googles Google Docs (which are in another language at the moment... at least for me) or Thinkfree which have a word processor, spreadsheet program as well as a presentation program all online and all free to use. Saving your files is a breeze and can either be done as a PDF or an MS Office file.

One last thing I'd like to mention is a website called Vidoop. This company has created a new way of logging onto a website (that supports OpenID) with the use of pictures instead of a password. This may sounds completely stupid but if you are interested watch their video to find out how its all done.

All in all Web 2.0 looks pretty good and definatly the way forward. The Uni is looking at taking a Web 2.0 approach by using Blogs and Wikis within the Uni as well as externally for assignments and such like. I'm looking forward to playing with that!