| Understanding Web Versions: Past, Present and Future
So far, there are only two versions (if you can call it that) of the Web available to the greater populace. Look at it this way: the World Wide Web is evolving, and newer versions are not only inevitable, but are expected as well. The terms, Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and Web 3.0 can be defined as the past, present and future of the Internet.
Web 1.0 actually refers to any site created in the virtual world from 1994 to 2004. This is a retroactively named term and designated only when Web 2.0 became such a craze among Internet users and web developers. There is actually a small dividing line of difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. In fact, for many less tech savvy Internet users, there hardly seems any difference at all.
Web 1.0 Defined
For the purpose of discussion, we will try to re-classify some of the more prominent elements of the different web versions. For Web 1.0 websites, users usually have: browsers, gif buttons; constant use of online guest books; email marketing; online stores; search engines; static pages (like plain texts and plain pictures); use of propriety HTML Extensions like, blink and marquee tags; utilization of framesets; and the so-called Dot.com boom, or rather Dot.com bust.
Other Internet users define Web 1.0 as connectivity: from dial-up Internet service, to 50K average bandwidth.
Web 2.0 Defined
Web 2.0, on the other hand, is really a misnomer. According to Sir Tim Berners-Lee, (noted inventor of the World Wide Web itself) the many so called advancements in web development that Web 2.0 offers have been used since the early days on the web. And this is apparently true to many of us who cannot distinguish at a glance what the differences are in Web 1.0 websites and Web 2.0 websites.
Nonetheless, some Internet users are saying that the term connotes the second generation of communities, hosting services and web designs; several examples of which include: blogs, folksonomies, social networking sites, and wikis. Others are putting it into a broader perspective saying that any site created from 2004 to the present is part of the Web 2.0 mania.
For Web 1.0 websites, users usually have: click-through advertising; emergence of more social networking sites, even more specialized ones; faster connections that enable more dynamic contents; more measurable means of online sales; promotion of online and viral marketing; the use of keywords to enhance search engine rank; and the prominent use of wireless devices.
As for connectivity, it is said that Web 2.0 users need an average of 1 megabit of bandwidth.
Web 3.0 Not Yet Defined
It’s true. There really is no prediction yet as to what Web 3.0 can do, or if we will progress into that next stage anywhere in the next 5 to 20 years. However, the most noted progress that should take place is the speed of which websites can be uploaded and downloaded. Some industry experts are saying that connectivity should take about 10 megabits of bandwidth all throughout – and this includes usage for the entire population of World Wide Web surfers.
Other than that, there really is nothing more to foretell. The needs and wants of every Internet user vary greatly and also evolve in time. What may be a successful virtual niche these days may be gone in a few years time? A good example of this is the steady decline of the e-book marketing system.
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Last edited by Mercury; 03-12-2008 at 11:21 AM.
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