Defining the Web
Evolution
of the web has turned the internet into an even more powerful tool. Comparing
the web from what it was to what it is now shows the constant remarkable growth
and how much everything has changed. Many people often see the Internet and the
World Wide Web as the same thing, however, they are quite different. The
Internet is a computer network that consists of connecting a variety of other
networks while providing a variety of information. On the other hand, the World
Wide Web is an information system on the internet where documents and other
resources can be connected. In simple terms, the difference is quite noticeable;
the Internet connects networks while the Web provides the information of these
networks. They tend to be confused with one another due to how close knit they
are and how one typically needs the other to function. The Internet has always
been what it is, but the Web is what keeps evolving.
The
first version of the Web, often referred to as Web 1.0, was the first stage of
the World Wide Web and consisted of view only sites that had little to no
interacting content. With this version being as simplistic as they come, Web
2.0 had soon evolved from it. Web 2.0 was the beginning of something new and
included additions that Web 1.0 could not achieve. Although there were not many
technological improvements, the level of interaction had sky rocketed. In short
terms, Web 2.0 is the social media platform. I refer to it as such because on a
social media sites people are constantly interacting, exchanging information,
commenting back and forth, and sharing things that have gone viral. Because of
this, Web 2.0 had surely outgrown its past 1.0 version. In my opinion, when Web
2.0 evolved it changed the way people interact forever. Prior to, people had
more physical interaction than technological, now, people often feel more
comfortable interacting through the web because people feel less pressured and
can find more people online to relate to how they feel as opposed to people in their
surrounding area. Web 2.0 provided another alternative for communication that
1.0 couldn’t. This version of the web not only allows us to read on what
information is out there, but also comment, join, and sometimes edit to it as
well. Web 2.0 released a sense of power when it came to be and although it can
be seen as positive, it has its downsides too. For example, I remember as a kid
spending majority of my time outside and when I had access to the web I played
games and read about whichever current artist was most popular (there was
really nothing else to do). When 2.0 had come about, it provided an entirely
new level to what was accessible. Not only could I have games on the computer,
but I could have access to these same games on the phone and even download more
if I needed to. All these new additions were great, but society became
dependent upon it. Unlike Web 1.0, the second version didn’t require as much
personal interaction and things such as working from home and being interviewed
through a video chat came to be. Web 2.0 depreciated the sense of reality that
society once had and this is the largest con about its existence. While Web 2.0
was connecting information on the internet, Web 3.0 was gathering it and
connecting the information to people. I see the third version of the web as a
robotic note pad memorizing every stroke of our keyboard and every search then conveniently
allowing these searches to reappear in places such as your Instagram ads that
appear on your timeline. This is good if you’re looking to research something
and when you visit a social media platform the company or product’s associated
social media page appears allowing you to become more connected than when you
previously searched elsewhere. It can also be frowned upon in the aspect of
privacy. When we log onto our home computers or search something from our
personal phones, we see these actions as private and personal. To most, myself included,
searching something on amazon then logging onto Facebook to find the exact
product you searched appear again is bothersome. It makes you question whether
the privacy of your home is honestly privacy of your home or privacy of the
web.
