Web 2.0... different? Better?

Today I aim to answer the question ‘How is web 2.0 different, or even better, than web 1.0?’,

If we were to use the numbering system it would be logical to assume web 2.0 came after web 1.0 and it is therefore the new and improved version. Web 1.0 can be considered a delivery medium, something to be passively consumed, Web 2.0 on the other hand is an interactive environment inviting its viewers to interact, rather than being user-read information it has progressed into “user-led content creation” (Bruns, 2008).

Although most of us studying now at QUT and interacting with Web 2.0 can barely remember Web 1.0, four years the first Web 2.0 conference was held, four years ago I was 14, and a school student. Web Web 1.0 was in vogue we were consumers not producers, now we have evolved into Web 2.0 where we create online content, whilst this may be as simple as creating an online Facebook account we are creating the content that is shaping Web 2.0.

Alex Bruns terms this interactive relationship within the Web 2.0 environment “produsage”, meaning we as consumers and users are also the people creating the content. Whilst creating a MySpace or Facebook account is a fairly simple task for most, it is a specifically useful example that the content is created purely for the use and consumption of their users, by their users.

Web 2.0 entrusts its creation to its users, providing only a platform for its development, Jenkins (2008) and others believe that platforms like this are leading to the collective intelligence in society.

So, in essence web 2.0 stands far above Web 1.0 not only in its numerical value but in its usability. Web 2.0 is a format for creation, interactions and consumption. Web 2.0 is not a new World Wide Web it is an improvement on the original, but in its vast improvements Web 2.0 has warranted Web 1.0 obsolete.

The social software of Web 2.0 has enabled users to ‘Do-It-Yourself’, with online publishing, blogs, tagging and podcasting, society is now creating content. Essentialy Web 2.0 is a more organized and functional providing a Do-It-Yourself medium.