The Web Evolves by DAM News Staff

October 27, 2010

: Image via Wikipedia

The new Internet isn’t a number, it’s a journey of purposeful and powerful communication

Information Management Newsletters, Vanessa Ho

Is anyone else tired of hearing the term “Web X.0”?

Just when we are finally getting our heads around Web 2.0, here comes another version. Perhaps this term Web 3.0, already grating to some ears, is a bit like Microsoft issuing new versions of Windows – you don’t really want it, but you think you may have no choice.

Change also brings risk and dialogue among many parties facing the same uncertainty. “People love to name things, stick a name on something and be the first to define it, and the Web offers some exciting opportunities to do that because it is just like the Wild West in many ways,” says Michelle Warren, principal at MW Research & Consulting.

Most people who define and add to the hype surrounding Web 3.0 will be at least partially correct because parts of the evolution are already quite visible in its foundation. Bit by bit, technological advances have added efficiency and improved organizations’ abilities to transact business, talk to customers and analyze results. But the sustained use of any new tool or technology always comes down to whether or not it helps people execute against fundamental business challenges and opportunities.

It’s likely that the next evolution of the Web will be just that, a series of changes, new options and choices, more than it will be one great leap. And, the dynamics that exist between new technologies and business adoption are not always obvious. If it were left completely to business drivers to spawn new technological developments, we would not see much improvement because inherent behavior is to “stay within the box.” If left to pure R&D, we would likely end up creating solutions looking for a problem. That is precisely why understanding the convergence of technology and its users is important.

Continues @ http://www.information-management.com/newsletters/semantic_Web_business_intelligence_social_media_integration-10018983-1.html