What is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0 has always been just a buzzword for me. I’ve always known it to be a generation of the web, but I have never been too sure about it’s characteristics and what it exactly offers to the average Internet user. To answer some of my questions and to kill my curiosity, I decided to perform a quick research on the meaning of Web 2.0.

This is what I discovered…

The expression Web 2.0 is frequently associated with web applications that assist interactive information sharing, interoperability, collaboration, user generated content and design on the World Wide Web. Web 2.0 does not only allow users to retrieve information, it presents a more interactive user-interface that encourages user-generated content. Some examples of Web 2.0 includes: Social networking websites, wikis, blogs and video-sharing websites.

On the 30^th September 2005, Tim O’Reilly wrote an article titled “What is Web 2.0. Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software”. He states ”Web 2.0 doesn't have a hard boundary, but rather, a gravitational core.” My interpretation of this statement is that Web 2.0 is a lot more robust compared to Web 1.0. Due to the enhancement of user interactivity of the Web 2.0 platform, users are given the stand to collaborate within a virtual community where user-generated content can be shared within a network and stored in a collective pool of social knowledge. The Web 2.0 platform fundamentally supports the idea of collective knowledge because it can generate new knowledge as well as enhance the capacity to codify, store and retrieve knowledge by collectively accessing networked databases. Collective intelligence is the enhancement of group intelligence due to the ever-expanding degree of human collaboration and interaction.

My conclusion is that Web 2.0 is not just a generation of the Web it is connected with the way software developers and the end-users utilise the web. This time we are not just users of the Internet we are actually becoming part of the Internet.

Here is a great YouTube clip that gives a great technical summary of what Web 2.0 means.

Political Campaigns Benefit from Social Media

Social media has become a popular platform for those in a political office whose work and very professional survival is dependant on the needs and perceptions of their constituents. It is obvious that social media is fully fledged with opportunities for politicians to connect with voters.

Jonathan O’Dea was elected the Member for Davidson for the Liberal Party in 2007 and is currently exploiting the power of social media to collect feedback and thoughts from his constituents. You can visit his website at: www.jonathanodea.com.au

I have been privileged enough to work with a great team who designs and develops disruptive technology and one of our initial projects was to develop an online survey for Jonathan O’Dea. This survey is concerned with the issues of combining same-sex couples and adoption that was introduced by Independent MP Clover Moore. It is a topic that is certain to attract considerable community interest and attention.

As member for Davidson, Mr O’Dea has potential concerns regarding the proposed Bill. He decided to use the power of social media in order to objectively ask his constituents about their views on the topic before stepping forward and exercising his conscience vote in the New South Wales State Parliament.

The “Survey on Adoption Amendment (Same Sex Couples) Bill 2010” consists of three questions where the responders can answer using multiple choices and/or send a ‘confidential’ message to Jonathan O’Dea. If you have a few moments, be sure to visit this online survey and have your say on the topic. Make sure you have your speakers turned on, as Mr O’Dea would like to speak to you. He is a live ‘Avatar’ who will aim to respond to your comments if you decide to leave your contact details with him. http://2d.homeunix.com/couples/

‘Photoshopping’ – A Contemporary Style of Art

'Photoshopping’ is a common slang for photo manipulation and the term originated from the popular graphics-editing program known as Adobe Photoshop.

Photo manipulation has been around for a very long time but with the advent of sophisticated digital imaging products such as digital cameras, powerful personal computers and sophisticated photo-editing software, photo manipulation has become a common practice. Due to the advancement of digital imaging hardware and software, the manipulation of photos have become a much easier and efficient procedure and fake photos are becoming more difficult to detect.

The following YouTube shows some great examples of digital photo manipulation and retouching produced by Rodrigo Bressane.

'Photoshopping’ is a common term used to describe digital photo manipulation and it has become a contemporary style of art. A perfect demonstration of this new style of art is Photoshop Tennis where a pair of artists start of with one original photo between the two of them and they take turns manipulating it to produce a new meaning. This game is sometimes referred to as Photoshop Pong and Photoshop Battle as it follows a similar concept to the ‘DJ battle’ except the game is played by editing and remixing images. Photoshop tennis initiated during the late 1990s and early 2000 on graphic related internet forums.

Here is a great example of a Photoshop Tennis game. It was a battle between Danielle Russel and LJ Jun.

In my opinion, digital photo manipulation is a practice to craft illusion and deception, which makes it very difficult to distinguish which photos or artworks are authentic. But the power of digital imaging has become a contemporary style of art that has allowed us to further express ourselves to the world.

Gesture Search

In March, Google launched an experimental application called Gesture Search for the Android. The Android is a Smartphone that has the capacity to store an abundance amount of data and information. This makes it difficult for users to access specific items on their phone such as a bookmark, contact, application or music file. Gesture Search allows Android users to search their device by simply drawing gestures on the touch screen – for example, they can basically use their finger to write the title of the item they wish to find. The entire word does not need to be spelt out because the search results are continuously updated as the application registers each letter drawn by the user. The Gesture Search is known to provide a quick, fast and fun way to perform searches on a phone where great quantities of items are found in the one place.

Have a look at this YouTube video to understand how the Gesture Search works

It is obvious that Google is profoundly competing against the Apple iPhone in the Smartphone market. Smartphones have become one of the most popular categories for consumer technology. The Android is establishing exciting and innovative applications for users to interact further with their phones and therefore connect with the rest of the world in an easier, faster and more efficient manner. At this very moment the Gesture Search only works for contact, bookmarks, applications and music searches. I will not be at all surprised if Google decides to take a larger leap and come up with an efficient method for searching information on the entire web. What else does Google have in store? It is never ending!