Just when I thought I had a simple Web 2.0 definition down-pat (create, collaborate, share, connect), my brother-in-law has proposed an alternate theory … that from a programmer’s perspective, Web 2.0 isn’t a “new” Web, rather the continued development of the “early” Web. 

We agree that one of the differences between “now” and when we first went online a decade-plus ago are the number and types of people with an online presence. 

I think I’ve mentioned before how I’ve been tracking a bunch of craft and quilting blogs in preparation for my family’s holiday exchange (gifts should be handmade; a gift of time like babysitting, proofreading, driving to the airport; or … new this year … a book). 

These blogs often have authors who we would not have thought of as being Web presences in the early days.  Many of the blogs I read feature stay-at-home moms (who have since built a cottage industry in online craft markets as a result of their blog’s popularity) or retirees, neither of whom we would have seen as “typical” users a decade ago.  And yet their blogs often have subscriberships in the hundreds, more than most media or educational technology bloggers have.

In our discussion, he’s pointed me to this excellent O’Reilly article from 2005, which delineates the difference between “Web 1.0″ and “Web 2.0″ by comparing and contrasting examples of each.

For example:

Web 1.0 = taxonomy/directories

vs.

 Web 2.0 = folksonomies/tagging

Web 1.0 = personal Web sites with static content

vs.

Web 2.0 = blogs where visitors can interact and leave comments

Web 1.0 = building Web sites that are “sticky” (have elements that make visitors want to linger)

vs.

Web 2.0 = syndication (sending out the content to the visitor, who may never visit the site)

For now, each of us is sticking with our own perspective … and, the more I think about it, both of us are right.  Those who know the behind-the-scenes programming on the Web see that we’re on a gradually shifting continuum.  Those of us who really prefer that someone set things up for us so we can concentrate on content see an exponential change.Â

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