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There is much talk these days about the shift from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0. What does this really mean? What are the differences between the two, and how is this building into our everyday lives? In this post, we are going to cover the past phases of the internet and look at where it is going and how we can utilise this shift in all the ways we can.

Remember the days of going to a website for information? There was no interaction. Blogs weren’t really something that companies were thinking about, much less asking their customers for feedback on how to make things better. Rather, it was a top-down system for those who knew they needed to be online so their companies and organisations could let you know what was happening with the company. Web 1.0 is usually dated 1990-1999 and known as the 1^st phase of the internet.

Then something started to happen.  People began to use the web to actually interact rather than broadcast. More and more people started being creators of the content rather than just a small number of writers. A gradual shift occurred. Ben Ramsey, Senior Software Architect at Schematic, states in one of his blog articles:

“Web 2.0 represents the second decade of the Web (2000-2009), which is characterized by a shift in the use of the Web to not only connect to a company’s or product’s constituents by giving them information but also allowing users to connect to the company/product and to each other. This is often called the era of the read-write Web.”

This is where the web became more of an open forum. People began to speak up and speak out. Communities were being built online and leaders were starting to emerge. Organisations began to listen and interact with its consumers and connections were made. Social networks such as Myspace, Facebook, Flickr, and You Tube became major platforms for social interaction and sharing. Web 2.0 users made full use of blogging, tagging, and social networking. The key to Web 2.0 wasn’t just about information; it was about its users. None of this could have happened without them…you…us.

Okay, so this is seemingly where we are at, right? So what is this about changing again? What does it all mean?

Web 3.0 or the semantic web means we now have social networking with a purpose. It means we change from having one separate computer device, to the web being visible in everyday things we use such as our vehicles, mobile phones, and much more. It means we build artificial intelligence into our platforms. It means we have social networking with a purpose. Where we’re headed is to personalisation of online services in a way more so than what we are used to today.

Eric Schmidt, chairman/CEO of Google describes web 3.0 as a different way of building applications:

“Web 3.0 will ultimately be seen as applications that will be pieced together.  Some characteristics will be applications that are relatively small, data will be in the cloud, applications can be run on any device, be it PC or mobile. Apps will be very fast and very customizable, and the applications will be distributed virally through email and social networks rather than being purchased at a store.”

Jonathon Strickland, senior writer for ‘howstuffworks.com’ wrote a piece about How Web 3.0 will work:

“Some Internet experts believe the next generation of the Web — Web 3.0 — will make tasks like your search for movies and food faster and easier. Instead of multiple searches, you might type a complex sentence or two in your Web 3.0 browser, and the Web will do the rest. In our example, you could type “I want to see a funny movie and then eat at a good Mexican restaurant. What are my options?” The Web 3.0 browser will analyze your response, search the Internet for all possible answers, and then organize the results for you.

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That’s not all. Many of these experts believe that the Web 3.0 browser will act like a personal assistant. As you search the Web, the browser learns what you are interested in. The more you use the Web, the more your browser learns about you and the less specific you’ll need to be with your questions. Eventually you might be able to ask your browser open questions like “where should I go for lunch?” Your browser would consult its records of what you like and dislike, take into account your current location and then suggest a list of restaurants.”

Because of the gradual process of this shift, we’ve been building web 3.0 and artificial intelligence into our platform to not only separate conversations, but making sense and relevance of the conversation within communities is the key both for the participant and also our clients. By doing this, it will save time, money, and energy.

There are exciting and unique opportunities to be had in this next web generation.  It won’t be something that just happens. We’ve already been gradually evolving that way. As for terms, we are now living in Web 3.0 space. Welcome to the continuation of the future.

What are your thoughts on web 3.0?

posted by Venessa in the category Social Media Social networking Web 3.0
Tags: Ben Ramsey, Eric Schmidt, Google, howstuffworks.com, Jonathon Strickland, Schematic, Semantic Web, Web 3.0