With this article I want to take a closer look at what Web 3.0 is or may be. There is a lot of speculation regarding what Web 3.0 will actually be all about and when it we be upon us. In fact, some have suggested that 2010 is the year of Web 3.0.

With some of those facts in mind, let’s take a quick look down the “point release” history of the Web:

Web 0.0 related to the initial interactions between computers – the beginning of a networked world as it began evolving. Very basic, almost crude in nature, and of limited use (by today’s standards), but a huge contribution on what was possible with individual computers.

Web 1.0 was the next step and developed protocols and common language to begin making sense and using the growing network or “web” of interconnected computers in both the private and public sectors. Data was primarily produced with little intelligence about how and why; and content creation and distribution was the sole domain of the website owner. However, of great importance was that it created a wealth of business models that took advantage of a new, non-physical channel by which to sell and promote goods and services.

Web 2.0 introduced a more interactive web, with what is sometimes referred to as a “two way web”. With Web 2.0, users were not only reading information, but also writing, contributing, and creating content.

Web 2.0 has given birth to the business models of co-creation, open innovation networks, crowd sourcing and enough buzzwords to last a lifetime.  It’s also introduced the idea of mobility in data and applications and a whole new level of global interconnectedness with each other. Furthermore, it has standardized how machines, even from competing brands, communicate with each other.

It’s a social, collaborative, and altogether more responsive and interactive web that is no longer just a tool, but a part of us and how we interact with the wider world around us. What would a modern firm do without email nowadays?

So, if we think of all of the above as a brief intro, here is a great video introducing Web 3.0:

This is the academic view of Web 3.0:

This is what Google think of Web 3.0:

Some further suggested reading for those of you who are interested:

http://www.labnol.org/internet/web-3-concepts-explained/8908/ - this has a few presentations from a variety of people on what web3.0 might end up becoming.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-30.htm - a comprehensive view of all the elements of Web 3.0

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2102865,00.asp – A close vision of how web 3.0 is evolving…the site is a little annoying.

Hopefully, it all makes sense.

Ivan Silva

The Orakul