Web 2.0

There has been a lot of discussion in the technical blogosphere about Web 2.0. Most of the discussion centers around how just about everybody hates the name (but ironically, by talking about it,they just perpetuate the name even more). No one has come out with a new release of the web, but there are some very exciting trends that make the web a far more interactive and compelling place to spend time.

This discussion has now gone mainstream - Newsweek magazine has a cover story about this topic (they call it the "Live Web" which amazingly manages to be an even lamer moniker than "Web 2.0" - was the old web "dead"?). On their web site, they have a quiz entitled How Geeky Are You? Take it and see how you do (I got a 58, which just fell short of the highest level of nerdiness - I'm devastated but determined to get geekier).

Web 2.0 basically involves two emerging trends:

1. New web sites that use technology known as AJAX to create a richer user experience in a web browser
2. New web sites that enable a collaborative community experience

Google Maps was one of the first sites to use AJAX in a very compelling way. The ability to drag a map around the screen, zoom in and out, and flag areas of the map are all examples of what AJAX technology can do for you. Microsoft is releasing technology known as ATLAS that we are starting to use in our MySite 2.0 project and I'm really excited about how it is going to make our services a richer experience for our students. Microsoft is coming out with a new version of their hotmail service that I'm beta-testing that is very cool. It basically gives you the full capabilities of Outlook (including things like drag-and-drop) in a web browser.

The second trend is even more interesting because it doesn't center around the technology (though many of the sites use AJAX), but centers around human interaction. The collaborative side of the Internet is exploding with sites like MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, Digg, and the thousands of blogs that spring up every day. When I used to teach an Introduction to the Internet course, I emphasized how the Internet has always been more about information and communication than technology. The rapid emergence of these kinds of sites just underscores that point.

The question for those of us working in education is: How do we leverage these trends to better serve students?

Update: If you want to keep an eye on new Web 2.0 sites, I highly recommend TechCrunch.
Another Update: I just ran across a site that lists the Web 2.0 awards. Should be a good place to see some examples of what Web 2.0 is supposed to be about.