Like any other technology, the web is evolving, and it is doing so quite rapidly. Due to the lack of standards, there seems to be a bit of confusion regarding its evolution and versions, but the most acceptable evolution stages are as follows:
- Internet 1.0
- web 2.0
- Web 3.0 (also known as Semantic Web)
So what is the difference between these versions?
Web 1.0: The Internet before 1999, experts call it the read-only era. The role of the average Internet user was limited solely to reading the information presented to him. The best examples are the millions of static websites that proliferated during the dotcom boom. There was no active communication or flow of information from the information consumer to the information producer.
Web 2.0: The lack of active interaction of the common user with the web led to the birth of Web 2.0. The year 1999 ushered in an era of reading, writing, and publishing with notable contributions from LiveJournal (launched April 1999) and Blogger (launched August 1999). Now even a non-technical user can actively interact and contribute to the web using different blogging platforms. This era empowered the common user with some new concepts viz. Blog, social media and streaming video. Publishing your content is just a few clicks away! Some notable Web 2.0 developments are Twitter, YouTube, eZineArticles, Flickr, and Facebook.
Web 3.0: We seem to have everything we wanted in Web 2.0, but it’s way behind when it comes to intelligence. Perhaps a six-year-old has better analytical skills than existing search technologies! Web 2.0 keyword-based search resulted in information overload. The following attributes are going to be part of Web 3.0:
- Contextual search
- custom search
- custom search
- Evolution of the 3D Web
- Deductive reasoning
Although the Web has yet to see anything that can be described as quite intelligent, efforts to achieve this goal have already begun. 2 weeks ago, Google’s official blog mentioned how Google’s search algorithm is now getting smart as it can identify many synonyms.
For example, Images and Photos are now treated with a similar meaning. From now on, your GM Crop search query will not take you to the GM (General Motors) website. Why? Because, first by identifying synonyms, Google will understand that GM can mean General Motors or Genetically Modified. So by context, that is, by the keyword crop, it will deduce that the user wants information about genetically modified crops and not about General Motors. Likewise, GM cars won’t drive you to genetically modified crops. Take it for yourself to see how this newly added artificial intelligence works on Google. Also, there are many Web 3.0 websites that customize your search. In fact, the web is getting smart.