Internet Advertising Agency: What is Web 3.0 and are we there yet?

What is Web 3.0 and why are we talking about it? To answer this question we will have to take a step back and look at what Web 2.0 is.

Back in 2004, O'Reilly Media and MediaLive International had a conference that discussed the future of the web and emerging techniques that would help ensure it succeeded. During this brainstorming session, the phrase Web 2.0 was used to describe the new Web environment that emerged after the dot com crash of 2000.

New websites were appearing every day, and many of them used different business models to the commercial sites prior to the crash. We were beginning to see the emergence of a new generation of websites.

The term Web 2.0 was referring to sites that were using the Internet as an applications platform. Web 2.0 is about enriching the user experience. Web 2.0 uses applications that allow smaller programs to fit within a larger program by allowing the smaller applications to access the API (application programming interface).

Many social media sites like Facebook and Twitter offer developers access to their API to build applications that enhance the users' experience.  Facebook offer a lot of support to developers who want to build their own applications. It enables Facebook to continue growing as many apps have been developed that allow web users to log in to other sites using their Facebook identities.

Web 2.0 also encapsulates the evolution of the web from being static to having user generated content. The Internet became an interactive place where people could comment and add their own content. The most obvious and well known example of this is Wikipedia.

With the evolution of web editing software static pages became easier to update. Along came Really Simple Syndication (RSS) a system that allows users to subscribe to a site and receive information as and when it gets updated. Blogs became very popular with easy to use open source blogging platforms readily available. Blogs make use of RRS to push out new content to subscribers.

Web 2.0 also brought with it access to the Internet via platforms other than a PC or Mac. Mobile devices such as phones and PDAs plus access via games consoles are increasing web usage.

Although we are firmly in Web 2.0 many web developers are working towards what is being coined as Web 3.0. Web 3.0 is going to take Web 2.0 a step further and become more intelligent. Web 3.0 will use the semantic web to add understanding to your browser behaviour. Web 3.0 will make your search results more relevant as it will understand your questions and bring up contextually relevant information.

It is believed that Web 3.0 is going to make the web a more personal experience basing search results on previous browsing behaviour. This will mean that people searching for the same query could see different results based on their personal preferences. This enhanced user experience will make it more difficult for an seo agency to monitor a websites position if the results vary by user.

In reality Web 3.0 is still some way off but every day we are moving closer towards it. At BDR we are preparing ourselves and our clients for Web 3.0 so we are ahead of the game.