“Web 2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of the World Wide Web that is focused on the ability for people to collaborate and share information online. Web 2.0 basically refers to the transition from static HTML Web pages to a more dynamic Web that is more organized and is based on serving Web applications to users. Other improved functionality of Web 2.0 includes open communication with an emphasis on Web-based communities of users, and more open sharing of information. Over time Web 2.0 has been used more as a marketing term than a computer-science-based term. Blogs, wikis, and Web services are all seen as components of Web 2.0.” (Web 2.0)
Some applications of Web 2.0 are Movie Collector Plus, Free Dictionary, and Napster. Movie Collector Plus allows the user to create a database of his/her own movies and keep track of who (s)he lets borrow his/her movies. It provides a list of newly released films, and allows the user to add any movie to his/her personal collection. Also, at the top of the page it flashes the latest news breaks. This website is quite versatile. Free Dictionary provides the definitions of English words, as well as a thesaurus, an online translator, and encyclopedia. This website is a one-stop site to aid research and general knowledge. Napster is a website dedicated to music. Napster allows its users to search millions of songs to download for their personal collections. Also, the site provides Billboard lists of the top new music. Napster streams online radio for all-day listening, at the click of a button.
Also, blogs such as Facebook and Myspace are components of Web 2.0. These websites are networking site that allow the user to keep in contact with friends from around the world. The user can browse pictures posted by friends, read/write on friends’ walls, send messages to friends from across the world. All of this can be done by the typing of a keyboard and the click of a button.
Web 2.0 is the new age of the internet. It allows the user to be more active, and more involved with websites.
