Web Evolution

Web Evolution

 

Part 1

 

The Internet has surely come a long ways. In the past 20 years, we have evolved from Web 1.0, to Web 3.0. To many, these names are completely foreign to them. The Web has evolved at such a pace, that we have become accustomed to its constant changes.

 

The author feels as though the Internet is a vastly evolving form of technology. Web 2.0 is believed to be the form of Web that the author grew up on – early forms of Internet browsing that were much simpler. Web 2.0 was built around the idea of browsing, and finding out about new things. The author can recall growing up with Web 2.0, and how exciting it is. Before it’s release, it was hard to research topics, or find out what was out there in the world. For many, the opportunity to network via email was crucial to Web 2.0’s success. Emails changed the way we communicate – you no longer has to physically write someone, or call the on the phone. It was no possible to virtually send someone mail. This could be seen as a precursor to texting, and even social media interactions. Web 2.0 definitely lived up to the hype when it grew out of Web 1.0.

 

Web 3.0 is taking us into an ever-evolving place. The world we live in is becoming increasingly reliant on the Internet, and other forms of technology. Web 3.0 has given us the opportunity to have full control of publishing, and expressing ourselves. Social media could be seen as one of the biggest factors in Web 3.0 – specifically Facebook. With Facebook, we are able to interact with people with tremendous ease. People have the ability to be up to date with one-another at a constant pace. This includes personal matters, as well as political, educational, and entertainment matters. Overall, it gives the user the capability to have a voice on the Web – something that Web 2.0 didn’t allow for. With Web 2.0, if you didn’t know how to code, you could not make publications on the Internet. The author believes that Web 3.0 is taking us in directions we didn’t know were possible. It is tough to say what will happen next, but it is interesting to see how much more accessible the web has become. Smart phones now give us the opportunity to access the web whenever we want. Wi-Fi gives us access Internet almost anywhere – free of charge. This is great because purchasing data isn’t always cheap, so now anyone could gain access to it. However, this may have bad consequences because of web privacy. Hackers become stronger everyday, and are increasingly more knowledgeable about getting people’s sensitive information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 2

 

Web 1.0 is somewhat hard to define because Web 2.0 evolved directly from pre-existing characteristics of Web 1.0. The trouble with this is that Web 2.0 does not correlate to a particular advance in Web technology – it could be seen as Web 1.0 with a bunch of upgrades. To better identify what exactly Web 1.0 actually is, people often associate it with the time when the Web was a set of static websites that were not yet providing interactive content. In order to connect web pages, one would use hyperlinks  - a link from a hypertext file or document to another location or file, typically. Users of Web 1.0 were merely browsing around, looking at various forms of content.

 

Web 2.0 has been used to define what many know as the social web – an era in which social networking hold a majority of online activities. On August 1, 2003, Myspace was founded. While many did not realize it, Myspace would play a key factor into the evolution of the internet, and way in which people use it. In a scholary article written by a student at Salford, the author explains that “The evolution of technology in organizations is rapidly highlighting the potential benefits of Web 2.0 to the corporate environments. The customers are empowered to voice their opinions and help organizations to develop products and services.” While this article was from 2010, it was just about to see the potential the internet had for business. People could use social media to market themselves – for free. Along with that, Myspace was a great way for musicians and bands to market themselves. Since then, social media has evolved in a manner in which people can market, or interact with people, free of charge, and with ease. We now see platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook leading the way for social media.

 

Just as Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 were hard to find a clear separation, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 are somewhat hard to clearly define their differences. When 3.0 was first considered, it was said in the New York Time’s article in 2006 that Web 3.0 will see an era “when machines will start do seemingly intelligent things.” In another article, it is explained that “Web 3.0 might be defined as a third-generation of the Web enabled by the convergence of several key emerging technology trends: ubiquitous connectivity, network computing, open technologies, open identity, and the intelligent web”