Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Evolution of the Web: 1.0 vs. 2.0 vs. 3.0

The web has been evolving more and more since it was initially created. Changes are constantly being made in order to improve its quality and effectiveness for its users. 

  • Web 1.0

In the beginning the web started off at a point which is referred to as 1.0 which according to Tim Berners-Lee is better considered as the “read only web”. Web 1.0 websites were considered static, meaning that they were viewed in such a way that was uninteresting and left the reader with no desire to return to the site to view more. What most likely caused majority of the boredom associated with visiting these sites was the lack of interaction with the reader that these sites provided. Readers were not able to impact or allow their own voice or input to appear within the site, there were no commenting features like the majority of sites have today in Web 3.0.

  • Web 2.0

The web begins to improve during Web 2.0, which is when social technologies begin to be introduced. During Web 2.0 improvements are made to the faults that were discovered in Web 1.0 as well as additional improvements beyond that of Web 1.0. According to Cormode & Balachander, “Web 2.0 is both a platform on which innovative technologies have been built and a space where users are treated as first class objects.”   In contrast to Web 1.0, Web 2.0 includes social media websites such as Facebook and YouTube. These sites differ from those found in Web 1.0 because they allow the reader to put their opinion and input into the site through the use of commenting boxes. Web 2.0 is more user friendly for the readers by allowing them to do more than just retrieve information from websites. Oddly enough just because the name Web 2.0 suggests it’s a newer version there wasn’t any actual technical modification that took place.

  • Web 3.0

When Web 3.0 evolves the internet is released from its confined walls within a computer and finds itself loaded onto smartphones, cars, as well as other forms of technology. Data can be exchanged through these devices and new information can even be developed on these new devices. Web 3.0 gives way to a more efficient and faster way to perform tasks on the web, whether it be surfing the web, using search engines, or even going beyond the regular classroom setting of a blackboard. Truly Web 3.0 is the most personalized form of Web available at this point in the web’s evolution, for example when students take exams online once the last question is answered the student can instantly learn their exam grade.  A program that my Management Operations professor uses is called myomlab and it even goes as far as to set up a study program for you in order to show you the areas that you need to study in order to improve based on your exam results. Finally from Web 3.0, we have arrived at Web 4.0, which is most commonly referred to as the “symbiotic web”. Unfortunately Web 3.0 needs to evolve itself more before there is much to experienced in Web 4.0, however the internet is constantly evolving, changing, growing, and improving. 



Cormode, Graham, & Balachander Krishnamurthy. "Key differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0." First
Monday [Online], 13.6 (2008): n. pag. Web. 5 Oct. 2013.

Strickland, Jonathan.  "Is there a Web 1.0?"  28 January2008.  HowStuffWorks.com.<http://computer.How
stuffworks.com/web-10.htm>. 03 October 2013.

“Web 1.0 vs Web 2.0 vs Web 3.0 vs Web 4.0 – A Bird’s Eye on the Evolution and Definition.” Flat World
Business. <http://flatworldbusiness.wordpress.com/flat-education/previously/web-1-0-vs-web-2-0-vs-
web-3-0-a-bird-eye-on-the-definiton/>. 03 October 2013.

Wood, Gregory R. (2013). Social Media: Engaging Your Customer. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from


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