Web 2.0, the software that makes social networking sites possible:

Following is an excerpt from an article about fairly new web server software, Web 2.0, which was posted to a technology group to which I belong. The author of the article is Jo Guldi . Her article condenses some information shared by Jerry Michalsky, CEO of Sociate.com. Jerry explained to the group, by a telephone phone conference organized by Jo, why this new open-source software, Web 2.0, is changing things so much:

What is Web 2.0?

It's a new server software that makes websites and services much easier to use. With earlier software, when you made a change on a web page, you had to refresh the page before you got more info. This made websites slow and tedious to use.

With Web2.0, simple webpages are easier to use and much more interactive – like googlemaps, which when you scroll, the map actually moves on your screen. You don't have to reload the map on your machine first. This was made possible by advances and improvements.

Weblogs and wikis: These are common implementations of Web 2.0. Weblogs or blogs are personal diaries on the web. Wikis are like whiteboards in cyberspace, very easy-to-edit webpages. (See http://www.pbwiki.com).

Rss (Really Simple Syndication) feeds: With RSS feeds you can combine, or "mashup" information from a lot of different sources. For instance, a mix of craigslist ads and housing maps from google. You ask for a request of properties for rent in San Francisco between $500 and $600/mo -- then, an RSS feed puts together the list of available properties (from one site) with the maps of the houses (from another site).

Social network websites, for instance, MySpace, or Facebook: Such sites enjoy a HUGE audience! Upwards of 90% of college students have their own facebook page and use it on a pretty regular basis. Kids just connect with each other. There are almost no barriers to entry – "wanna go to a party tonight?" "yeah, I'll see you there" constitutes a valid social interaction.

Two more examples of "social networking" websites: Flickr, a photo sharing site, and Delicious, a bookmark sharing site. The power of such social networking sites comes from the fact that they have all this connectivity baked into the server software used. That software links you with your buddies. A page shows Jerry the five most recent photos posted by his friends. Some show the cities they've visited, their friends, the food they just ate.

Now, about tags. Tags are a feature of these social networking sites. What is a tag? Well, let's say you've logged into Flickr, where you've uploaded some of your prized digital photos. You have a picture of a beach – you might tag it "beach," "ocean" or "surfboards." People tag their own photos and the photos of other exhibitors with words or phrases that seem appropriate. Someone else might tag your photo "sunset," or "jo guldi", maybe because they met Jo at the beach. – Then other people might follow that tag around and see who else has pictures of "jo guldi." Tagging creates "folksonomies," rather than ontologies, because the informational structures they facilitate are folksy, i.e., they grow from the ground up.

It's really easy to set up a website using the technologies made possible by Web 2.0. Jerry once set up " DearKid.org and linked it to a wiki (so that anyone could change it). Within a few days, strangers had stopped in and started writing "dear kid" letters – what they wish someone had told them when they were a kid.

So friends, we're at a new and very promising point in the development of information and communication technology. Let's learn about and use this largely free resource to promote the common good.

This article written by TCDavis