Changing nature of the internet
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By now, almost everyone is familiar with the terminology of Web 2.0, a term loosely used to describe the internet in the 21st century. But how is Web 2.0 different from the previous web and how will it specifically effect your business?
Broadly speaking, Web 2.0 represents the movement away from individual websites and web pages, and a progressive movement towards a unified web community, where information is gathered from a myriad of sources and presented to the end user in a singular manner. This also means that the internet will become an even bigger part of everyday life. Ultimately though, you will probably not notice the effect and change that has and will be brought about by Web 2.0, and this is perhaps the reason for its undoubted success so far and in the future.
So how do you keep up with the evolving nature of the internet?
At first, this may strike you as a near impossible feat, however, you may find that you have already incorporated elements of Web 2.0 in your website. For instance, a major hallmark of Web 2.0 is interactivity and the immersion of the internet in everyday routine. If your website has a forum or a place for your customers or viewers to comment or express their opinion, you have already incorporated Web 2.0 in your website. Essentially, anything that makes the internet visitor act instead of passively absorbing information is a positive step in assuring your business’ success within the Web 2.0 environment.
Whilst interactivity may seem like a rather simple and perhaps obvious step for the internet, in actual fact, what is taking place, is a complex psychological and scientific process. Technically speaking, the user is encouraged to shift the way they intake and process information from the rear hemisphere of the brain (responsible for absorption of information) to the frontal lobes, where cognitive planning and critical thought take place. This is a much more effective learning technique that is commonly encouraged. By facilitating interaction, the changing nature of the internet allows for more effective learning and browsing experiences without the user necessarily realizing it.
The other process that is taking place, is the movement away from the conventions of voyeurism that plagued Web 1.0. Specifically, the web’s initial cornerstones were based on presenting large amounts information in an simple, easily accessible manner, this made pornography propagators and initiators immensely successful. However, this also instigated a period of social voyeurism, where the internet viewer was engaged, even hypnotized by the monitor without a secondary thought in mind. Now, Web 2.0 is encouraging people to be more active online by expressing their opinions, taking actions and interacting with each other. Progressive e-business workers have already taken advantage of these trends by creating online ads that ask the user to play a game or participate in a survey first, before trying to sell products to them.
Lastly, a crucial aspect of Web 2.0 is dynamically generated web content. If you or your web designer are still using simple HTML to generate content, you are wasting time, money and are not using your online space effectively. Dynamic websites made using languages such as PHP and ASP allow the website administrator to simply edit websites by accessing a back end, user friendly system to update content instead of having to deal with HTML code directly. Furthermore, these dynamic languages allow the incorporation of interactive and useful modules on your website that can improve the usability, functionality and quality of your website environment. It is by taking these actions that you and your business can actively participate in the Web 2.0 environment.
Web 2.0 is a rather insidious phenomenon which should result in a largely positive outcome for users and business owners in general. Making your website user-friendly and interactive are important steps to take to ensure that you are keeping up with latest internet trends.
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