If you've been following the latest developments in Web publishing, design and development, then you've certainly heard about "Web 2.0."
It's a term that is, in most cases anyway, meant to define the bleeding edge of Web technology, best practices and implementation. Depending on who's using the term, you could be talking about the Web as a platform for applications, a philosophy in building and designing Web applications, a group of powerful Web technologies, and much more.
"Web 2.0" as a term, in other words, is pretty meaningless. And yet, many people are talking about it—and you will only hear more about Web 2 dot 0.
As part of my weekly column here at Publish.com I'm going to talk about many things that fall under the vast umbrella that you could call Web 2.0.
Harder to define subjects like folksonomy and tagging, the long tail, and more.
Click here to read an interview with 37 Signals' Jason Fried.
It's an exciting time on the Web, both for publishers and application developers. I thought I'd take a quick minute to talk about why I feel some of the above items are important and worth paying attention to.
AJAX
AJAX, or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, is a term coined by Adaptive Path's Jesse James Garrett. In many ways, AJAX is defining a technology that's been around for a long while—DHTML. Only now, AJAX is at the point where it's actually offering some real value to Web designers and developers. Why? Well, in essence, AJAX is nothing more than a technology that enables a much better experience on the Web. You can do things that help make your applications and pages easier to use and thus add value.
Sure there is a whiz-bang aspect to AJAX, as you can do some really neat things with it, but in the end it's the fact that it can help you help your readers and customers by making their online experience better.
Click here to read about how new technologies are changing how we search for video online.
For example, the way Flickr lets you edit the title or description of the photo simply by clicking on it. There is no separate form to fill out. Everything is right there, on the page, where it should be.
Ruby on Rails
What makes Ruby on Rails an interesting subject is its ability to build solid Web applications quickly. I'm not much of a programmer myself, but there is more than just hype to the whole Ruby on Rails "movement" in application development for the Web.
It's touted as the first "true" Web application development platform, but what really matters is that it's a way to very quickly bring very functional Web applications to market. Applications like 37 Signals' Basecamp are great examples of applications built on the Ruby on Rails platform.
Web Standards, Best Practices and CSS
In many circles this stuff is old hat, yet it hasn't yet been as widely adopted as it probably should be. CSS is a developer-friendly (after an initial learning curve) presentational technology that allows for great power and flexibility when it comes to publishing and designing for the Web.
Click here to read about CSS2 support (or lack thereof) in IE 7.
Web standards-based technology, like CSS (and XHTML), along with industry-accepted best practices like semantic coding, allows for a future proofed markup that has many benefits for both publishers and audiences. Increased accessibility, SEO, shortened development cycles, more flexibility and future proofing are among the most notable.
Getting Real and Smaller Is Better
The philosophies surrounding the Web right now all kind of relate to the idea that getting a lot done with a little is the way to go. There is a revolution going on right now, some say another Internet bubble, but this time it's different. As Seth Godin says, "Small is the new big."
Today the call is to build quickly with the resources you already have and address people's needs simply. Get started quickly and don't get too big too fast. There have been many success stories, like the aforementioned 37 Signals, to illustrate this kind of thinking and it's well worth keeping an eye on.
The People-centric Web
My own little addition to the Web 2.0 mix is what I call The People-centric Web. It's my way of trying to tie the advances in Web technology to the needs, wants and problems of the people that browse, shop, learn and play on the Web.
To me a technology like AJAX is pretty meaningless unless it's used to make something easier or more enjoyable for people to use. When you bring all of the above together and use it to build something that brings people together, then you're talking about a people-centric Web.
Folksonomy and Tagging
"Folksonomy" is an information architecture term coined by Thomas Vander Wal to describe user-created taxonomies of information. It's important because more and more Web applications and publications are making use of this via tagging or social bookmarking.
Flickr, one of my favorite Web applications, makes great use of tagging and social bookmarking services, like del.icio.us and Digg are other good examples.
User-created and/or defined content is going to play a big role in the future of Web publishing. People want to be able to tag, remix and share content across the Web. Tagging is an example of how understanding what people want—the people-centric Web—and then giving that to them can really pay off.
The Present Future
Even though you'll hear the term "Web 2.0" thrown about (although hopefully not too much by me!), it's important to note that most of the things you hear referred to as 2.0 are really things you can and should be thinking about and learning about right now.
We all know the Web moves fast, and while some of the advances seem way ahead of their time, there is a whole lot of room for this stuff right now—today.
Web Design 
