What is Web 2.0?

Is it social networking, is it application of various technologies, or is it simply a marketing hype? Many people have different interpretations of what Web 2.0 really is. Tim O'Reilley, founder of O'Reilly Media, defined Web 2.0 at a conference in 2004,

"Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform."

However, Dario de Judicibus, IBM social-networking analyst, proposed a different opinion, he defined Web 2.0 to be:

"A knowledge-oriented environment where human interactions generate content that is published, managed and used through network applications in service oriented architecture."

This definition of Web 2.0 is closely linked to The Cluetrain Manifesto, which was one of the earliest discussions leading to Web 2.0. This Manifesto was published in 1999 and written by Christopher Locke, Rick Levine and, Doc Snearls and David Weinberger.

More recently, Web 2.0 can be described as a combination of the two above definitions. It is seen as the next generation of web applications where social interactions of the user are a primary focus. This transformation has given users more power and freedom than ever before. Unlike Web 1.0, this phase of development, allows users to actively take part in not only retrieving information but also transmitting and editing it themselves through online networks, thus making them both contributors and consumers. Thanks to Web 2.0, the web is now flourishing with creativity and user collaboration, ultimately leading to a more open approach to the internet.