From many to many

With the arrival of the social media the web environment has changed completely and this is what we consider the inception of Web 2.0. People can now easily produce web content: write posts, upload pictures and video, comment articles, etc. Before we could just browse what a handful of people have produced and uploaded online i.e. communication was from few towards many. Today communication is directed from many towards many. In a way the ordinary Internet user is empowered to create content, rather than to just read it. Web 1.0 was all about “read” and “visit” while Web 2.0 is all about “post it”, “share it” and participation. A good example is Britannica Online which was an excellent encyclopedia, but was quickly overshadowed by Wikipedia – a place where the users themselves can generate and enrich the content. Web 1.0 was more of a one-way communication, while Web 2.0 is a two-way interactive dialogue.

Blogs and RSS

Another major difference is the fact people had a transition from personal websites to blogs. The blog is more natural, even more personalized, easily updated, a daily, rather than a one-time-action. The blog also gives the opportunity for feedback from readers and requires often visits to read new content. To cope with the new stream of information we now have RSS feeders – this is another feature of Web 2.0. Web sites are now so many and so rich that we set up a system to notify us when something has changed, something that we are interested in.

Social media and sharing

The biggest difference of all must be the social media. This is a place where “You” are “You” and being such you share pictures, emotion, video, adventures, you socialize, you network, you search jobs, you play, you express your opinion, etc. Unlike forums and chat rooms, where you rarely use your name and therefore you rarely stay firmly behind your words, in social media people are who they really are and therefore they are more open-minded, honest and responsible when it comes to statements.

When we talk about Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 transition, there is more:

-          advertising changed from interruption to integration with viewers context,

-          content changed from synthetic (marketer-generated) to organic (user-generated),

-          trend changed from being on your domain, to being everywhere your customers were on the web,

-          from building web sites, to building communities,

-          from launch events to sustained relationships with customers.

How is Web 2.0 affecting companies and business? Stay tuned for our next article, only here at Web School, powered by GetWeb.