How Web 2.0 Is Changing the Way We Surf the Web

Surfing the web and navigating the internet are now standards of ‘net culture that most of us take for granted. With the rise in search engine and page ranking, searching for content through various portals has become the best way to retrieve information at a glance. As the internet evolves into the upcoming years, we can all look forward to the highlights of Web 2.0. Many of today’s current web pages are considered ‘static,’ in that they have limited interactivity beyond basic links to other sites. Web 2.0 is the next level of the internet; driven by deep links, blogs, web logs, video extensions, and other attributes, the new dimension in web surfing will open up huge opportunities for research, learning, and networking.

Sites such as Google and Yahoo! are already on the tracks of Web 2.0; think about how Google AdSense has change the dynamic of web advertising, with complete control of advertising links deeply enmeshed within a given topic. Web 2.0 can take this same process to an entirely new level, with the introduction of social networking websites similar to Flick’r and Digg.com that enable users to interact in a new way. Deep linking between websites will allow sites to generate content similar to Wikipedia. Searching for information will no longer be simply through a search engine keyword input; instead, we will be able to jump from page to page, site to site, with ease and relevancy. Sites may offer live events, up-to-date information, and opportunities to further research through collaboration and ‘live’ networking.

Tags are becoming popular amongst many online networking programs, allowing users the ability to identify keywords, subjects, and topics easier than ever. If we consider the web = world encyclopedia analogy, tags serve as virtual bookmarks that can be attached to particular subjects and ‘pages’ for the easiest retrieval. These tags are in turn attached to particular keyword combinations, paragraphs, and summaries, further helping users to identify the most relevant information they need.

The push towards Web 2.0 is driven by the effectiveness of ‘wiki’-style sites as they stand today. Wikipedia itself is incredibly effective in deep linking and tagging sites for relevance; it acts as a gateway to both surface and in-depth information, driven by the user. Simple in design, but incredibly complex in its make up, Wikipedia is just one of many dynamic and aggregate data sites that will evolve as Web 2.0 grows.

As more internet users turn to optimized internet connections including broadband and high-speed wireless, downloads of video and audio are becoming easier and more manageable. In turn, Web 2.0 can help organize media components with ease and efficiency; RSS feeds and other sorting aids will help users interact at a higher, faster, and more efficient pace than ever before. Although the grey area remains on what exactly Web 2.0 is, an objective view on the shift of sites such as Google, Wikipedia, and other deeply-linked web interfaces, bring to light a new approach to information control, retrieval, and organizing.

Web-based communities and networks will develop and evolve as information is shared at this higher level; user’s who incorporate Web 2.0 dynamics into their web pages will find greater flexibility, opportunities for screening and storing information, and collaboration of topics and projects in many fields of study. The web is turning to a whole new dimension with the combination of rich media, higher speeds, and increased data management. Web 2.0 will serve as our new interface for greater usability and increased efficiency; it will be interesting to see how quickly (or not) standard search engines and portals adapt and proliferate in the upcoming years.