Most people don't recall the exact start of the web. I mark it with the release of the first web browser and web server, Mosaic. The web has gone through quite a few generational changes since it's then.
Web 1.0In the first generation of the web sites were 'read' or presentation only. They basically only told you things. A very one-way form of communication.
In the second generation (which came along very quickly) web sites added some interactivity like catalogs, online shopping, store locators, and discussion boards.
Then came networking features that allowed people to connect groups and interact with each other. The earliest versions of these were sites like
Yahoo!Groups,
Tribe, and
Friendster. Tribe is virtually dead. Tribe, Friendster and Yahoo Groups still have decent traffic but they have definitely leveled off. Now each is being hotly pursued by
NextGen community sites like
Ning, Multiply and
WetPaint.
You can see how the traffic to these sites has been leveling off in the chart below. The older sites have all reached saturation points because of inherent flaws in their models. The newer sites are coming on strong but they too will top out when their flaws become evident to their early adopters.
Web 2.0The next major generation earned the moniker
Web 2.0 and web sites added much
more functionality and interactivity with AJAX. Things like asynchronous direct updates of certain page elements, and highly functional Javascript User Interfaces. So far Web 2.0 has mostly resulted in narrowly functional sites. Many sites have been perfecting themselves as web services provided with embeddable widgets.
Web 2.0 is also
marked by collaboration features that allowed many individuals to contribute and the 'wisdom of the crowd' began to emerge. A few key sites like
Wikipedia have emerged as major examples of what's possible when people are able to collaborate in an unrestricted environment.
Social NetworkingWe're also now several years into the
Social Network revolution. While the group sites mentioned above did a nice enough job, they did
not fully foster networking or connecting with friends and finding new like-minded friends. Sites that
did foster networking grew rapidly. The most famous was
MySpace, but it's being pursued aggressively by
Facebook.
Stay tuned for my next installment -
The Next Gen Web. See you then.