The Web as Platform

In the previous post I described the simple differences between Web 2.0 and Web 1.0 and identified seven principles outlined by Tim O'Reilly [1]. O'Reilly's seven principles offer a logical jump-off point for exploring the Web 2.0 phenomenon. In this entry I will discuss his first principle, The Web as Platform [1].

According to O'Reilly, "You can visualize Web 2.0 as a set of principles and practices that tie together a veritable solar system of sites that demonstrate some or all of those principles, at a varying distance from that core" [1]. See the below "meme map" for a graphical description. The map offers an outstanding visual -- a picture is worth a thousand words -- for how Web 2.0 is developing the web as platform. Most importantly, the web (the platform) is constantly changing to meet the needs of the Internet community -- giving the user a stake in the development and modification of content accessible to any user with a browser and web access.


One of the key ideas of The Web as Platform is that client side applications, such as the Microsoft Office Suite, and their development, release, and distribution cycles will become obsolete. O'Reilly sums this philosophy up nicely [1]:

"There will be no scheduled software releases, just continuous improvement. No licensing or sale, just usage. No porting to different platforms so that customers can run the software on their own equipment, just a massively scalable collection of commodity PCs running open source operting systems plus homegrown applications and utilities that no one outside the company ever gets to see."

The Web as Platform is a key principle to understanding the Web 2.0 phenomenon. The ability to harness collective intelligence to create and edit data collectively within the web community is what makes the web a powerful, scalable platform. The Web as Platform principle allows users to run software applications entirely through a browser. Instead of just viewing a site, Web 2.0 sites often offer rich, user-friendly interfaces that encourage users to add value to applications as they use them.

In the next blog entry I'll discuss the second principle: Harnessing Collective Intelligence.

References:
1. Tim O'Reilly (2005-09-30). What is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software

Did you ever wonder (dogs and peanut butter)...

...why dogs love peanut butter so much. We have an eighty-five pound yellow lab named Sully, and Sully looooooves peanut butter. Every few months, when we get to the bottom of the Jiffy Peanut Butter jar, Sully gets a delectable treat -- he gets to clean the "empty" peanut butter jar so we can put it in the recycle bin. He'll spend hours using his six-inch tongue like a spatula -- trying to clean every square inch of that jar. It's a chore for him because he has a biiiiiig head and snout, and getting that snout into the little jar opening is not easy. When it comes to peanut butter, though, Sully is very thorough. However, there is always that one little spot that stymies him. It's usually on the convex portion of the very bottom of the jar -- right in the middle. He can never get this spot and it drives him nuts (no pun intended).When he was a puppy he would chase the jar around the house (or yard), grasp it between his paws, wedge it up against the wall, or try to chew the top off to get closer to the little spot, but nothing worked. As he gets older I think he's realized that he just can't get all of the peanut butter. It still drives him nuts, but when he gets to the little spot, he's mature enough to walk away from the jar. That's my mature boy...
Just so you don't think Sully is the only dog that enjoys peanut butter, check out the video of Cartman working on his own "empty" jar.

By the way, if you decide to give your dog the Jiffy Peanut Butter jar for recycle cleaning, your house will stink like dog and peanut butter for a day, or so.

What is Web 2.0?

According to Wikipedia, Web 2.0 is "a second generation of web-based communities and hosted services such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies, which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing among users." This differs from the so-called Web 1.0 technologies, which were static and did not allow interaction and collaboration. Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media, and Dale Dougherty of MediaLive International, co-creators of the "Web 2.0 Conference," offer the below examples of the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 technology.

Web 1.0		Web 2.0
DoubleClick	>	GoogleAdsense
Ofoto	>	Flickr
Akamai	>	BitTorrent
mp3.com	>	Napster
Britannica Online	>	Wikipedia
personal websites	>	blogging
evite	>	upcoming.org and EVDB
domain name speculation	>	search engine optimization
page views	>	cost per click
screen scraping	>	web services
publishing	>	participation
content mgmt systems	>	wikis
directories (taxonomy)	>	tagging ("folksonomy")
stickiness	>	syndication

Additionally, O'Reilly, writing a 2005 article titled "What is Web 2.0," explored seven principal features (1. The Web as Platform; 2. Harnessing Collective Intelligence; 3. Data as the Next Intel Inside; 4. End of the Software Release Cycle; 5. Lightweight Programming Models; 6. Software Above the Level of a Single Device; and 7. Rich User Experiences) that he considers core competencies of Web 2.0. Upon initial research, O'Reilly's seven principles appear to be a logical organization for exploring Web 2.0.

Why a Web 2.0 Blog?

Recently I attended a class called "Social Software 101." The class was designed to initiate professionals into the Web 2.0 revolution. That's real nice, but what is the Web 2.0 revolution? What I found is that many of the so-called Web 2.0 tools are used by the casual computer user - which I categorize myself - every day. We just don't know it. The class really peaked my interest and I have been doing a lot of reading to attempt to understand the Web 2.0 phenomena. In my reading I have found that the information available on Web 2.0 is overwhelming. But what I have not found is that one web stop that breaks Web 2.0 down for newbies - or the casual web surfer like myself. What I hope to do with this blog is twofold: 1) Better understand the Web 2.0 phenomena; and 2) Translate my learning into a running dialog for other Web 2.0 newbies.

Did you ever wonder (in the beginning)...

...why people write blogs. I do and that's why I'm going to write a blog. Enjoy.