Did you get the memo about Web 2.0?

This past week I have been repeatedly surprized by the progress of web applications.

For me, the first amazing web application was Google Maps, which was launched in February, 2005. As I double-clicked to re-center the map, I remember thinking "How do they do that in a web-browser?!?!" In less than a year, hundreds of websites have sprung up using similar technology.

In case you haven't seen most of these (like me), here is a list of best web applications in each category - Web 2.0 Awards.

There are some new buzz words associated with this Web 2.0 technology. AJAX is a fairly common word now, which stands for Asynchronous JavaScript And XML. Another term I am hearing is "mashup", which is a page that combines content from multiple websites. For example, Zillow is a mashup of real-estate valuations database and Google Maps, and PropSmart is a mashup of a real-estate listings database and Google Maps.

Let me know if you have any favorite websites that are graphically stunning or incredibly useful. I hate feeling like I am getting left behind in technology, but that is how I felt this week.

Comments

  1. Anonymous3/31/2006 8:16 PM

    The great interactivity provided by AJAX is certainly changing the fuctionality of web pages in a very good way. Some cases seem to be a bit overdone or unnecessary. For example, do I really need to be able to drag and drop my My.Yahoo headlines to new locations? How often to I change them?

    ReplyDelete

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