Web 2.0 is at term coined to describe the "second generation" of web sites. Although regarded as hype by some commentators, we agree with the general thrust of Web 2.0. Web sites are becoming more sophisticated, and to be competitive, a site needs to engage the visitor. This means a dynamic site with features such as polls, surveys, newsletters, and a discussion forum. It is also common now for the owner to maintain a "blog", a web log or diary. Briefly, Web 2.0 means:
- It is about "you", the user! You can generate content and participate in this "social media".
- The Internet is no longer a web of documents, it is a web of data.
- Internet users are not passive, they respond and communicate.
- Sites should be web standards compliant (W3C - World Wide Web Consortium).
For example, Amazon allows their visitors to write book reviews, which they publish. These reviews may be highly critical, which you may think would hurt their sales. But Amazon is doing more business because they are seen as a more trustworthy company. Amazon has harnessed the book buying community to increase their business in an innovative way.