My Theory of Webolution
I don't think anyone expected the Web to evolve the way it has. Web 1.0 was basically like looking at a virtual flyer or an online library. You could consume information but that was about it. Terrible graphics, links to other pieces of information but not much more. I had to search pretty hard to find a website that hadn't been updated since the early 2000's I'm sure everyone remembers Space Jam , or at least I hope you all do! This little piece of Michael Jordan history seems to be frozen in time. Well most of us were sitting around doubting the capabilities of the web other people (especially Tim O'Reilly) were out there dreaming about the technical possibilities and finding ways to put it into action, hence the birth of web 2.0. This is the Web that we are all most familiar with, social media, blogging, and sites like Wikipedia. This advance allowed us to be interactive and it is mostly user produced content. Oh the power of networking! Now you can share, collaborate, upload, and you don't have to be an expert. It is designed for everyday people. As users our lives were changed and our needs were met, we were happy until it began to consume our lives, because when you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to want a glass of milk. By giving us more we end up wanting even more than what you gave us before! All of these advances are paving the way to the next step of evolution, Web 3.0. Some will argue it is yet to come some will argue we are already living it, but there were also those who argued 1.0 would never evolve. Let's not be fooled twice and dive into what the future Web holds. If at this point you're still a little confused do what i did and watch this video. So we can recap by saying there wasn't much technical change from 1.0-3.0 so much as social change. Web 3.0 is all about technical change. It has been refined and works off of semantics and algorithms. In easier terms it's like a bunch of documents got organized really well and are in multiple different categories. For example "Of mice and men" could come up in the categories of, books, mice, men, etc. By organizing the documents it is much easier for the user to sift through more information. It also allows the Web to predict what it is we are looking for. This is great for businesses and college students, but there are those who worry it is gathering to much personal information on us, invading our privacy. Whether you feel positive or negative about the advances of the Web, it, like all things, will evolve. Just keep an eye out if you think its gobbling up to much of your personal information.
Supply and Demand
Why has there been such an evolution of the Web? Understanding the history of the Web helps to understand how it has become a demand. Web 1.0 was about consuming information. Websites were like virtual flyers or online libraries. Terrible graphics, links that only took users to other information. There was nothing beyond that. The technology was there but nothing came of it until what is called Web 2.0. This is what changed the Web forever and why it continues to change. Web 2.0 became interactive. Sites like Facebook, Amazon, Wikipedia changed the web forever. It allowed users to become interactive. Sharing, uploading, collaborating, networking and more have become options for users. Web 1.0 was the information era of the web and 2.0 is the social era. Once users realized the boundless opportunities they began to want more. The demand for faster, better organized information needs to be supplied. Next comes the semantic era, or the era of technical change. How can these programs make our web experience faster and easier? By creating better organized data bases with semantics and algorithms searches are narrowed and future searches are predicted based on individual search histories. For example if a user searches "shoes" frequently that search will become more refined to shoes the individual likes and also prompt advertisements of shoes. With Web 3.0 we went from simply sharing and interacting to having connective intelligence, connecting data, concepts, applications and ultimately people. The Web has gone far beyond being a virtual library or an outlet for social media. It is a crucial role in today's society. Being used by businesses, schools, hospitals and so many more has created this demand of rising technology, because we rely so much on the information as a functioning society it needed to be streamlined to suite our needs. Hence the supply and demand. If it is in demand it will be supplied. It has to be considered that this is an international demand. The evolution will continue, if you search the word "bank" on one side of the world there needs to be recognition on the other side of the world that means a "financial institution". With Web 3.0 the entire world can reach a level of connection it never has before. Imagine walking into a library and seeing books everywhere, no organization, no way of narrowing your search. A library without the Dewey Decimal System would be preposterous. Information is the key to life, with an easier way of getting to this information and searches being narrowed the sky is truly to limit in our Web capabilities. Some people worry that their privacy is at stake with this advance in technology, this is understandable to an extent, but thinking about how this technology will change future information seekers lives forever and possibly be an interconnected world for the first time ever should discredit those woes.
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