I was just reading this article on LinuxInsider regarding the new young workers entering the workforce and how IT groups inside companies are handling their hunger for “Web 2.0” technologies. While I agree with the general premise of the article, they highlight Apple and specifically the iPhone. Here’s as excerpt:
“Not only will the next generation of new hires demand these kinds of collaborative tools, the customers of the companies who hire them will as well. A study by Booz Allen said, “Web 2.0 seems to cut across age and gender and — more importantly to businesses — it influences purchase decisions. The study’s conclusion: “The need to evolve existing business models by integrating the Web 2.0 environment is urgent.”
Apple’s youthful culture is certainly one of the driving forces behind the iPhone and its Web 2.0 support. Once again, by embracing open standards, Apple is driving the technical flow in many cases, especially small to medium-sized business where reports claim they’re gaining market share.”
What “Web 2.0” support does the iPhone have? The iPhone doesn’t do any things that are new, it just makes operating advanced features that have existed for a long time on many phones easier. Such as taking pictures/video and uploading them to flickr/youtube. Actually the iPhone doesn’t currently do video.
It’s true that the iPhone enables you to get on the web anywhere at almost anytime, but this isn’t Web 2.0
The problem here is that the term “Web 2.0″ is being overused by ignorant people who don’t know it’s meaning. What is the meaning of web 2.0? Look here for your answer.
First of all, the term “web 2.0” doesn’t mean anything in term of specific features or requirements. Which (I think) is your point.
But the iPhone most certainly DOES support web 2.0 in my opinion, in that the fancy AJAX stuff we love on Gmail, Flickr, etc. works just fine. And this is the first mobile browser where that’s ever been true.
The only thing, web-wise, that the iPhone doesn’t support is Flash and Java. Java is irrelevant, IMHO, and Flash is supposed to be coming.
Yes that is my point. I would like to ask the author of the article what his definition of web 2.0 is.
I agree with you that the iPhone is the first to have a full fledged and mostly useful browser. Very very cool!
Personally, I take the “Web 2.0” concept to mean a shift in development from static content to active content. Rather than static HTML pages, we’ve shifted to the use of XML for RSS feeds and AJAX, shifted to server side databases on a much broader scale, shifted to AJAX for active content and much more operating system application type interaction, shifted to the use of CSS for consistent styling. I disagree that Java is irrelevant, however. In some ways, Java is more relevant than ever, with many full fledged large applications being developed in Java (Azureus for instance). However, I think of Java less as the web programming interface it set out to be, and more as a replacement for desktop application code written in C and C++, which, while still important, seems to have an ever shrinking developer base. For the web, if it can be done through AJAX, and avoid Java’s more advanced features, it’s simply a better, faster, more usable experience. However, Java still has its place.