Sunday, February 5, 2017

A Journey Through the Wonders of the Web

         

 As time progresses, so does the complexity of technology.  It is quite fascinating to see the things we as a human race are capable of creating, and now doing due to certain technologies.  The evolution of the World Wide Web is one of the most intriguing things to look into and learn about.  Technology is constantly being updated and the capabilities of technology are always improving and becoming more and more.

If You Feel Like Reading My Opinion…


Web 2.0 was a ginormous leap from the abilities that Web 1.0 provided.  Now users were able to interact through the Internet and connect with people all around the world via Social Media.   Compared to standing Web pages that were merely for informative purposes, Social Media really changed the game for businesses. This leap was a very positive thing for many reasons.  Businesses could now create a Social Media page and advertise their products to people all around the world.  Getting the word out about promotions and coupons was now easier. People could comment on things and leave reviews to get their opinions out there, and these opinions were very helpful for business.  User involvement was important because not only did people feel their opinions were valued, but immediate feedback made it easy for companies to stay current and up to date with the wants and needs of society.  It was a big step for consumers as well.  People could now follow and interact with their favorite food places, stores, bands and so on.  This newfound Interactive Web was now more geared towards the individual consumer instead of just informative purposes. Web 2.0 was properly named as the Social Web. The leap from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 was all about user involvement and social interaction, and completely lived up to the hype.  The change from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 was not as big of a leap, though.   As far as what we are able to do on the Web, not much has changed since the era of Web 2.0.  Web 3.0 is more about the technical aspect and also about linking data together.  Web 3.0 is known as the “Semantic Web” because the definition of semantic according to Google is related to meaning in language or logic.  Web 3.0 works in a way where the data can be read directly by the computer, allowing a faster search time and more relatable results to pop up.  Web 3.0 is taking us into an era of faster and more concise searches, a more connected and more open Web, and more intelligence. This Web will be a step in the right direction for the most part.  Because of the understanding of information, it will be much easier to search for information, which will also make the life of the average person much simpler.  On the other hand, a disadvantage of Web 3.0 and where it is taking us is too much reliability on the Web.  We are becoming more and more reliable on Social Media and Google as a society, and the more advanced the Web becomes the more we may rely on it for everyday use.  Lifeboat provides a Website that talks more about the evolution of Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 and where the possibilities may take us in the future for a Web 4.0


If You Feel Like Reading Journalistic Facts…


The evolution of the Web is just as complex as the actual Web itself.  First off is Web 1.0, properly named because it is the first version of the Web.  This existed when there were merely Websites connected by hyperlinks according to Google.  There were no interactive Websites or content within the whole Web during this era of technology.  The information that existed on the Web during this time contained stand-alone information that didn’t ever change.  Its purpose was to inform the public.  If it was a Website for a business, it may have some information about the business itself and then some other form of contact information such as a phone number.  Things like online shopping and Social Media did not exist during this time period.  During the late 90s and early 2000s is when Web 2.0 evolved.  This Web era was known as the social Web.  The social Web was when Social Media really took flight.  Instant messaging was a sort of segue into the realms of Social Media, but the first very popular Social Media site was MySpace, which was founded in 2003.  This launched a whole new cyber world that people had never encountered before.  MySpace is now a very different website than when it was first created. It was easy to talk and connect with friends and family all around the world.  People were now able to follow their favorite things through the Web and on Social Media.  Instead of going to a Website and finding some stand-alone information about that site with some outside contact information, people were now able to find that business’ new Website and interact.  Interactive Websites were another thing that came out of the Web 2.0 era.  Commenting on a post, sharing something via Social Media, leaving a comment or review on a product and so on were all new features of Web 2.0.   This provided users the ability to leave opinions about certain products, businesses, or anything on the Web so the creator of the content or the owner of a business can update and cater to the wants and needs of the public.  Immediate feedback kept business owners in the loop and allowed them to update their products according to the feedback they were receiving.  Next was the era of Web 3.0.  This generation of the Web is more about the technological aspect.  Web 3.0 is known as the “Semantic Web” because it is all about how data in Web pages are structured and tagged in such a way that it can be read directly by computers, according to Google.  This new Web is not much different than Web 2.0 in the content we access but instead how we access it.  Data, intelligence, concepts, applications and people are all connected in a way that make it easy for the computer to read and ultimately easier for people to search.  Flat World Business provides a Website to more information about the evolution of the Web.

Our opinion about the evolution of the Web, whether it is a positive or negative thing, doesn't change the fact that as time goes on technology evolves.  We are becoming a generation that is very privy to technology and we have wrapped our lives around it.  Some people say it makes things easier, while others say that it is dumbing us down and making us to reliant on it.  No matter our opinion though, the Web is evolving into something amazing and looking back through the stages is something very intriguing to learn about.


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