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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

2.0? Whats next?

The internet has had a birthday! Apparently the web turned 2.0 at some point in time and everyone decided it was time to party. So, interactive web pages, fully customizable profiles, and more ways to stay connected than you can keep track of, are now running rampant. Its all about the user experience and user generated content. Wait a minute! You mean to tell me that 2.0 is the greatest thing since well the internet? No, this can't be right. I have a theory.... Bare with me for a moment.
During the early days of the internet, the whole motif was information quickly. The problem was the user had no way of interacting with the expert. It was a single sided conversation, a lecture if you will. The exception being in newsgroups. And to be quite frank most websites then looked like crap, no curb appeal.
Then the internet hit its teenage years where everyone became an expert. More people had ways of sharing their own expertise. The problem was still in the interaction, It was limited. People could have real conversations through Irc, chat, and Instant messaging. The problem there was SPAM. Web design took a good look at itself and began to improve. The big problem was Everyone being an expert always said they could do it better.
So, now we have v2.0!!! Where do I start...

MySpace, FaceBook, and a slew of others. You said " I can design a better site than that." v2.0 says "You said you can design a better site, prove it."

Twitter, pownce, and a whole host of others. You said "Chat rooms have too much spam and bots." v2.0 said "I will block everyone to start, you unblock whoever you want." follow= unblock :)

Finally you said no interaction. v2.0 said "You asked for it!" Blogs, comments, twitter, qik, forums, wiki's, texting, expo's, and a vast array of way to get in contact or talk to whoever you want , wherever you want, how ever you want.

To be honest I know what the next step is in web evolution. its not 3 its 2.1.
2.1 differs from 2.0 in the how information is presented. v2.0 says you can create whatever you want and make it look how you want, but you have no control over how everything else is presented to you.
v2.1 changes that. User created content ,such as blogs, are transformed into simple text, link, and picture formats. The format and templates are defined by the end user not the creator.
This is the next natural solution, the information is then passed on more efficiently. As the end user I don't have to worry about your color choices or layout or template. I define them so information exchange is improved. If I don't like the choices then I can change them.

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