Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

502 Web 2.0 and beyond“Web 2.0” is a somewhat nebulous term, but its core technologies are changing both how information is presented on the Web and how userscan create and share their own content.changing the way content is created and presented on theWeb, as well as ways in which Web users are using technologyto create new communities and institutions. (The termis somewhat misleading because it seems to imply a newversion of the fundamental Web software itself. It is more achange in the way the Web is perceived and used.)The term emerged into prominence following a 2004conference that emphasized the Web as being not justa place to offer services, but a platform upon which tobuild them, offering applications that are not dependenton any particular operating system. As services were builtand users participated in new ways, the emerging communitieswould then extend the power of the Web platformeven further (see social networking and user-createdcontent). For some often-cited examples, see Craigslist,eBay, Wikipedia, and YouTube.Web 2.0 ToolsAlthough the most important part of Web 2.0 is its businessand social models, a number of Web technologies areneeded to provide the flexibility and rich interaction neededto offer a new Web experience. These include:• dynamic, efficient generation of content (see Ajax)• programming interfaces (see api) using structuredtext files (see xml)• platforms for running applications in the browser,such as Google apps• merging and customizing content from differentsources (see mashups)• user subscription to content (see podcasting and rss)