Web evolution

Web evolution

            Evolution is a natural and necessary condition of human beings. Most of the aspects of humans’ lives are continuously subjected to change and adaptation. For instance, the way people interact with the other members of society has always been subjected to change, depending on cultural conventions, means of communication, contexts, among other factors. The way we interact with information, specifically with online sources, has also evolved in order to satisfy the increasingly interactive needs of users. Let us have a look at the evolution of the Web.

            The first generation of internet sites (Web 1.0) primarily gave information which was provided by webmasters that controlled the kind of content to be displayed in their websites. Here, users were only consumers of information without having the power to contribute to it. In the next generation, Web 2.0, this pattern has been modified by granting users a more participant and active role. They are now the main contributors who produce information and content so as to feed websites such as “Facebook”, “Wikipedia”, “Blogger”, and the like, that would not exist without user’s constant feedback with what it is posted online. Finally, Web 3.0 attempts to go further and be omnipresent. This means that information and technology develop in an intelligent and invisible way with the purpose of meeting collective and individual needs and wishes more easily, and more automatically. The ultimate goal is to have internet services available everywhere anytime. This is nowadays visible in appliances and gadgets like cell phones, computers, GPS devices, refrigerators, and so on, that integrate a set of applications and widgets that allow these artifacts to communicate with and stay connected to each other. All this evolution has not only revolutionized the way we interact with information online, but also the way we live and communicate in society.