Web 2.0 and You

So. You've heard people talking about Web 2.0, the current "big thing" on the internet. But what is it, and how does it change the way you work with the internet?
When the internet was first introduced to the general public, owning and maintaining a website was hard work. Companies of professionals capable of building websites quickly sprang up, but this was still a costly exercise.

Slowly, more and more of the world obtained access to the internet. The debut of hosting sites, such as Geocities (owned by Yahoo), allowed everybody to create their own page on the internet - provided they had the coding knowledge necessary.

Web 2.0 is what came next.

A typical Geocities site. Expression was considered more important than style.
http://blog.hostgator.com/, Accessed 11 March 2010

Web 2.0 is the name that's used to refer to a whole host of online tools that feature user-generated content, rather than content produced by companies or "web professionals." This extends to everything from wikis, where users compile information about a specific topic into one location; to blogs, where one or more users post news or opinions to their own online journal (like the one you're reading now); to social networking sites, where users create profiles and recreate existing social networks while simultaneously adding another, online dimension.

Whew. That's a lot to take in, isn't it. Here's the easy way to break it down. Imagine the difference between a lecture and a tutorial. In a lecture, the lecturer produces content (the lecture) that you (the users) listen to, take notes about, and absorb. In a tutorial, though, everyone (users again) gets involved. The users can generate new discussions, segue (or link) to other, related information, and everyone is given an equal footing.

Still having trouble? Here are some examples:

Facebook:

Along with MySpace, the emo teen to its cool older brother, Facebook in many ways defines the Web 2.0 movement. As a website, it has no raw content. Every page is either a user's profile or information, a page for a group to join and discuss, or dedicated to providing options for customising your Facebook experience. There's no company providing a product, no massive corporation trying to shill their wares, just a place for people to connect.

YouTube:

Like Facebook, YouTube is one of the defining sites of Web 2.0. Perhaps moreso than other social media, YouTube has been seized by users and companies alike. It has surpassed television as the debut location for music videos and film trailers, and introduced the "vlog" to a whole generation.

TvTropes Wiki:

The wiki is another staple of web 2.0, an area where users can collaborate their efforts to write content. At the TvTropes wiki, users (called "tropers") work together to document narrative conventions as seen in television, film, writing, and other media. By working as a group, rather than individually, they are able to construct a list of knowledge that is greater than the sum of its parts.

So that's web 2.0. By working together, users are able to create content for themselves that exceeds what any would be able to do on their own.