Although the web has always been a tool for collaboration, it is only recently that software has permitted individuals to use it as a platform for true collaborative activities. Web 2.0 tools allow individuals to share ideas and collaborate more easily.

Web 2.0 is about users and content, instead of just surfing on the Internet. It’s about what the Internet can do for an active collaborator, rather than a passive viewer.

Web 2.0 Technologies

Web 2.0 technologies are changing the way messages spread across the web. A number of online tools and platforms are now defining how people share their perspectives, opinions, thoughts and experiences.

Web 2.0 tools like weblogs, RSS, video casting, social book marking, social networking, podcasts, and picture sharing sites are becoming more and more popular. One major advantage of Web 2.0 tools is that the majority of them are free.

There are a large number of Web 2.0 tools, some of the more popular are:

Blogger
Wordpress
Myspace
Youtube

Metacafe
Del.icio.us
Digg
Furl
Twitter
Flickr

Using Web 2.0 Tools
Many people will have already used some of these Web 2.0 tools, and a good way to explain the concept of Web 2.0 tools is to consider an example of how they can be used:

Podcasting
If an individual was interested in video games, they might search a podcast submission web site (like Podcast.net) and download an audio review of a game to listen to on their computer. A Podcast is syndicated audio, or video produced by traditional media such as radio and television or by individuals passionate about a particular subject.

Blogs And Blogging
They may then decide to remark about this audio review on their Blogger or Wordpress blog. A blog or Weblog, is a chronological, online diary. Individuals can subscribe to a person’s blog, which allows them to read it and to write comments in response to blog posts.

RSS
If this weblog has an RSS feed set up on it, any subscribers to this blog can choose to be automatically notified of this new blog post. RSS or Really Simple Syndication is a method for delivering regularly changing web content. Many blogs and Internet publishers syndicate their content as an RSS Feed to allow people to subscribe to it easily.

Social Book Marking
This individual may decide that they would like more people to be able to see and remark on this blog post. They could do this by submitting the blog post to a social book marking site like Del.icio.us.
Social book marking sites are web sites that allow shared lists of user-created Internet bookmarks to be displayed, and commented on. Social book marking sites allow you to organize your bookmarks by allocating a number of ‘tags’ to them. This makes it easy for other people who may be interested in this group to find related bookmarks. For example, If the tag ‘games reviews’ was added to this bookmark, then people searching the bookmark site for ‘games reviews’ information could easily find it.

Social Networking
People who visit the bookmark site for this ‘games review’ tag are likely to see your bookmark. As more people find your bookmark and comment on it, you will find yourself part of a collection of people who have an shared interest in video games - You are now ’social networking’ and this is why some social bookmark sites like Digg are also classed as social networking sites.

I hope this brief article has given you a better insight into Web 2.0 tools, what they are, and how they can be used.

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