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Posted On
Dec 05, 2007
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 To a lot of people Web 2.0 might just suggest a new version of the World Wide Web, but to me it refers to changes in the way software developers and end-users use the web as a platform. It is nothing but a two-way communication between the users using the web as a platform. We can call it as exchange of information and network among the web users through some web based communities.
The main key characteristic of Web 2.0 is ‘Participation’, Participation, in this context, means the enrichment of a website by user generated content. In past websites use to serve a very basic information display mediums and the communication was just one sided. Options to edit, comment or add more to the existing content were almost non-existent. Web 2.0 has empowered the users to take part in the process of content generation.
Another very interesting feature in Web 2.0 is that it allows users to interact with like-minded users to exchange information or to discuss various issues using the web as a platform. That makes the whole process as much interesting as it can be while interacting verbally. Web 2.0 involves some emerging technologies, such as Web 2.0 AJAX, that allow developers and businesses to move, "beyond the page metaphor to deliver rich user experiences. And technologies like Web 2.0 APIs and RSS mean that users will no longer have their experiences dictated to them, but will instead have as much power to define their own experiences, as they are comfortable exercising it.
Designer should identify with the term Web 2.0
Having surrounded by web designers almost the entire day and I think it make a lot easier for them to differentiate the Web 2.0 sites. And the reason for this is that they try and describe that users perspective and their experience.
Web 2.0 crossing points as cutting edge 
We all are aware that RSS aggregators, search engines, portals, APIs and Web services, Google Maps offers the same functions as some other competitive services and tools on web. One of my favorites are the Flickr’s interface that is liked by all, Amazon also offers makes an attempt reaching further than its own site. All these new interfaces on web are changing the way we access and share information.
Are you submitting best Web Service for your users
Provide the best content to your users. Don’t just give them services but make them come back for more. One of the best examples for this are Amazon.com and eBay. The amount of commercial data that they provide to their developers is commendable and the best part is it is accessible to any developer who wants it.
Your Web 2.0 website should feature the following techniques:
- Rich Internet application techniques (Ajax, Adobe Flash, etc.).
- CSS
- Semantically valid HTML/XHTML markup.
- Syndication and aggregation of data in RSS/Atom.
- Clean and meaningful URLs.
- Extensive use of folksonomies (in the form of tags or Tagclouds, for example)
- Use of WIKI either totally or in part.
- Use of Open source software
- XACML over SOAP for access control between organizations and domains.
- Blog publishing.
- Mashups.
- REST or XML Web service APIs.
- Use of user-friendly content management systems (CMS) that are often open source, providing extensive website functionality at very low cost and reducing learning curves.
- Optimized search engine capability for balanced and largely used keywords.
Summary
Of course, designers are progressing the use of these Web 2.0 tools in many enterprises. But it remains to be seen whether these designers can sufficiently rein them in to serve their most strategic user objectives. And can these disparate technologies work in concert to achieve broader corporate goals?
Even with this simple design, the layout and Visual Studio is usually different. When you are developing Web sites this is probably okay, but when designing a Web site it is not acceptable.
This is where an expression Web 2.0 designer steps in. The focus of Web 2.0 Designer should be to provide their users with a clean, clear and complete view of how their Web page would look like. I feel that every company can make a smart move by creating these various Web 2.0 tools. Not everyone is a designer and not everyone is a developer. Sharing tools in one big huge product can be overwhelming. As it is, if the designers and developers working together and adapt the new Web 2.0 trends they can create the best Web 2.0 user experience.
Some Related Articles:
Web 2.0 for designers
What is Web 2.0?
Delivering Rich Web 2.0 Experiences
Better E-learning for designers
Rich Web 2.0 Applications
Web 2.0 Design Centre
Web 2.0 Ajax pioneer emphasizes user experience
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