Synaxiom Media Group Inc.

Web 2.0 saw its birth in the fall of the year 2001 after the dot-com bubble burst leaving scores of companies bankrupt and only a handful of companies managed to survive the shakeout and it was noticed that these survivors all had something in common. These commonalities were the defining characteristics of WEB 2.0, a term coined by O'Reilly Media who conducted the analysis along with MediaLive International.

Typically in Software circles a version upgrade signifies a considerable change in the application and technologies used and how it is implemented. In the case of WEB 2.0 it does not refer to the technical specifications of the World Wide Web or the technologies used to implement the WWW, but simply refer to how they are used to better serve the end user. Many critics question the use of the term Web 2.0 as many of the technology elements used in Web 2.0 have been inherited from its predecessor and even the beginnings of the World Wide Web.

A brief Introduction

Web 2.0 refers directly towards to usage of web technologies and not the technologies themselves. Therefore does not reflect the traditional version-numbers used by software developers. Since the term Web 2.0 refers directly to the revolution of the WWW as a platform there is debate on its use and its significance.

Supporters of Web 2.0 normally refer to the following characteristics in websites as key elements that would qualify a web application to be WEB 2.0:

1. Change in websites from being simple one way information resources to more functional and application driven website that are becoming computing platforms serving web applications to end-users. A good example of this is Google Docs and Speadsheets which offer traditionally known client based software applications such as word processor and spreadsheet to users directly online.
2. The emergence of blogs and perpetual beta that use the community itself to drive its development and content creation. The involvement of the user in the creation process.
3. RSS feeds, XML and web services allowing the use and easy distribution of content and other information
4. Increasing the economic value of the Web as an integral part of commerce. This phenomenon is different from the dot-com boom of the 90s. Now we see the integration of virtual enterprise and traditional together to create a value added service and high quality proposition to the end user.
   

At the first WEB 2.0 conference, Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media, gave a summary of the key characteristics that defined this new phenomenon known today as:

WEB 2.0. Here are some of those key features.

1. Websites that use the WWW as a platform to offer application driven websites
2. Information is key, good content is a must
3. Linking information within websites and the use of systems designed by an architecture of participation (systems designed for user contribution, such as open source projects)
4. Lightweight application development that allows for service (web services) and content (RSS) syndication
5. Perpetual Beta, applications are in constant state of Beta and upgraded continuously. A good example of this would be GMAIL Beta and Flikr Beta.
6. Lightweight business models enabled by content and service syndication
7. Tthe end of the software adoption cycle ("the perpetual beta")
8. A rich, interactive, user-friendly interface based on AJAX or similar frameworks.