Roots to the world wide web can be traced to the early 90’s when the web was merely a tool used by scientists at CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research). Now the web is a host to billions of users across the globe. With the surge in convergence of data offerings spilling over to range of devices, not simply restricted to the PC’s or laptops, the web is also seeing a transformation.

Beginnings

Dig back into the history of the web, the early 90’s was the take-off point. All was well with dotcom companies having a field day with the web, until the year 2001, when the dotcom bubble had to burst and the web business simply, nosedived.

The phase of recovery began slowly over a period of time and people began to regain confidence in conducting business around the web and the early talk of a newer web version 2.0 began in year 2004.
So how is web 2.0 different from its predecessor web 1.0 ?

There is no clear definition yet, although, primarily, the web 1.0 version build out, was a technology platform, more driven with the concept of performing commerce over the web and it also began to see forms of connecting people across the globe. 

Commerce-driven

Things have changed now with growing consumerism and numerous devices flooding the market. Content offerings like video, online gaming, the hunger of web portals to offer array of services, effective search engines, looking eager to see more customers, using their search engines, advertisers trying to push more ads on the web — all this needed a better build out of the web version 1.0.

Logins, web 2.0, which promises, to drive all the above factors, extends the reach of web 1.0, with greater service and applications, that are being built around web 2.0.

Most of the applications that are being touted around the web 2.0, are the blogs, wikis, social networking, multimedia sharing and other applications.

Usability in Web 2.0

The most highlighting feature which web 2.0 has to offer is that it would bring about a rich user application service. With more application offerings hosted around web 2. — call it ‘device convergence’— the end user is given an option of creating a more personalised space with the web 2.0 and also participate in a collaborative intelligence model, thus forcing the end user to the king of the web and the companies would serve the end users.

With the drive for more application-driven content, the web 2.0 build outs, can bring in host of players, ranging from content aggregators, content makers, software vendors, handset makers, open source communities and the list keeps adding.

Further, web 2.0 promises more users beyond just retrieving information. It helps them build interactive facilities of web 1.0, provide network as a platform computing — allowing users to run software applications, entirely through browsers. End users can also own the data on a Web 2.0 site and exercise control over that data.

India and web 2.0

India’s drive to web 2.0 is shaping up, with the recently held two-day conference at Bangalore, titled ‘Web Innovation 2007’ that highlighted the dynamics of web 2.0 and beyond. The conference was organised by Trade Fairs & Conferences International (TFCI), the conceptualiser and producer of Web Innovation 2007. Participants at the conference included Google, Yahoo, Adobe, Microsoft and other leading companies, airing their views on web 2.0 and its evolutes.

Speaking at the inauguration, Mr B V Naidu, Managing Director, SemIndia, said, “Web Innovation 2007 is an attempt to bring various IT and Software service domain companies and the quintessential end-user communities together under one roof and understand the advantages, challenges, pitfalls and long-term strategies to pass out with brilliant colours in this extremely challenging world of Web 2.0.”

Added Mr Bal Tarakad, CEO, TFCI, “At Web Innovation 2007, pre-eminent speakers will exhort you into intense mind sharing, help you understand the deemed renaissance of the world wide web and divulge more about the wide spectrum of business tools, technologies and processes available to harness the infinite business opportunities of the world wide web.”

Web 2.0 looks promising and equally exciting, given the fact that there is little PC and broadband penetration in India.

Although the mobile growth is exploding, the rural mobile penetration is far from satisfactory.
This spells out some reasons to ponder over.