Buzzwords: And a 1.0, 2.0, 3.0...

Depending on how involved you are with the web, you may or may not have heard the terms given to the various web "movements."  We are currently living in the Web 2.0 movement and rapidly approaching Web 3.0.  Speaking of which, I am wondering what happened to 2.1, 2.2, etc.  But I will save that research for another time.

So what do these numbers mean?  I'll try to give you a short description and examples of each, and you can figure out where your existing online presence falls.

Web 1.0 is the static web.  A Web 1.0 site exists on it's own, with no interaction from users or other sites.  It might look good, contain relevant information, but it really doesn't do anything that involves the user.  A plain brochure site would be considered Web 1.0.

Web 2.0 is a move towards a more interactive, user-driven web.  Sites now have a social element and often base some or all of their information on user-provided content.  YouTube is a great example of Web 2.0 because it is entirely driven by user content.  Facebook is another example with it's social networking aspect.  Even Amazon.com is very Web 2.0 with it's dependence on customer reviews and ratings.  The interfaces of Web 2.0 are also much more interactive and AJAX-driven.  AJAX allows for things like drag-n-drop functionality and smoother interaction with the site.

The new kid on the block is Web 3.0.  To me, Web 3.0 involves a push towards a limitless, machine-independent web.  Basically, the web is your computing interface.  All your software, data, etc becomes web-based.  Web 3.0 has also been called the "semantic web."  It's a movement where your online presence is really defined by a variety of sites and sources.  For example, have several Blogger sites, a LinkedIn account, a Facebook page, a GoodReads account, and more.  Factoring all these sources together becomes my online presence.  A site like Plaxo that integrates all these profiles could probably be viewed as touching on Web 3.0.

So how would you classify your current online presence?  If you're still in 1.0-land, it's probably time to re-think your strategy.