What impacts do you think Web 2.0 will have on the creation of websites?

Web developers have created the Web that we are all used to and what we see is what we get. Who would have thought that there would come a time when we could customize the websites in which we browse? Web 2.0 changes the way in which web developers create websites and how the end-users use them. With Web 2.0, end-users are able to be more interactive with the web pages that they browse; tagging is an example of this.

In Larry Becker’s article, “Keeping your eye on the 2.0 user”, Amazon.com was used as an example of how Web 2.0 is changing the web pages we browse. On Amazon.com, users are able to tag the products and pages that they like. This allows other users to browse the website based on what other users have tagged and can allow products to be categorized in a manner that is more easily navigated.

This could be economically beneficial to the companies who have these websites that allow the end-users to be interactive. End-users could tag products and pages in a way that makes it easier for other users to find these products. However, allowing users to be interactive with these web pages can have the opposite effect. Becker’s article gives an example of how these taggings can be harmful. On Amazon.com one of the tags is “defectivebydesign”. When you click on this tag, it leads you to a page where customers have chosen products that they say are defective. This could lead in the loss of sales on these products.

I believe that the pros outweigh the cons with Web 2.0. User’s are more likely to revisit a website that they can customize the way in which they want, than a site that they can’t find what it is they are looking for. There have been many times that I have been searching the Internet for certain products and when I try to go back to them, I cannot find them. This becomes very frustrating and time consuming. If I had been allowed to tag them, I would have been able to go back to that product to purchase it, instead I would give up and I would not purchase anything. This resulted in a loss of a sale for that company and I am sure that if it happened to me, then it has happened to a lot of other people.

The Internet is growing and improving everyday, this is the same with all technology. Although it does not seem like it, it was not that long ago that the world did not have the web to communicate or gather information. Every year the web improves in some way, Web 2.0 is one of these improvements. This will allow the web to become more user friendly which will in turn create more business for companies who have websites online. I believe that Web 2.0 will eventually become the user preferred way to view the web. Welcome to the future of the web!



References


Becker, Larry (2007, Jan). Multichannel Merchant. Keeping your eye on the 2.0 user.