UIEtips Article: Web 2.0: The Power Behind the Hype
November 30th, 2006
UIEtips 11/30/06: Web 2.0: The Power Behind the Hype
Usually, we’re not like this. We don’t get too excited about the new technologies that are introduced. After all, we never really got excited about mobile computing. Or, ubiquitous technology. Or, speech technology. Or, rich media. Or, tablet computers. None of these things excited us enough to really pay attention. When clients would come to us and say, “What are you thinking about designing for handhelds?”, we’d just say, “That’s not our area of expertise. We haven’t looked at it yet.”
NASA’s a client and they have a saying about the technology they use: “It has to be old enough for the Space Program.” NASA likes proven technology for their spaceships and I guess we’re very similar. We don’t like to look at something until it’s been around and proven to be something more than hype or a fad.
So, why did we get excited about Web 2.0? The thing that excites us the most is what people are doing with it. We’re seeing interesting new applications appearing out of nowhere, all because of this new platform and its capabilities.
I think it makes sense for designers to really understand what Web 2.0 is and what it could mean for them. That’s why in this week’s UIEtips we’re re-printing an article I wrote last year, where I discuss the power of API’s, RSS, Folksonomies, and Social Networking. I hope you enjoy it.
Have you looked at the Web 2.0 platform yet? Do your applications take advantage of APIs, RSS, Folksonomies, and Social Networking? Does it intrigue you? Scare you? Bore you? I’d really be interested in your thoughts. Leave a comment and join the discussion below.
[If you find this article interesting, I encourage you to join us in Monterey, California this January for our UIE Web App Summit. On Day 3 of the event, we'll explore the important innovations from the Web 2.0 phenomena. We've invited the experts behind these approaches to give you insights into how to integrate them into your design. You don't want to miss out. See the summit website for more details.]
November 30th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
I am very happy to see my favorite source for user interface information come to this conclusion. We are following this exact course. We have been very slow to adopt web technologies for two reasons. One is that most had serious issues (e.g. not compatible across browsers and systems, slow load times, basic UI flaws, invisibility to search engines). And almost always, the requests to use something like Flash or Javascript mouseover pop-ups was better met by well-designed old-school methods. Mouseovers, in particular, were because someone was too lazy or UI-ignorant to think out their navigation.
But the so-called Web 2.0 technologies are different. I see some real benefits and they can be built to be lightweight, compatible, and effective. We have plans to use them very soon — but judiciously!
One caveat — think about search engines. AJAXed components are generally not visible.
December 5th, 2006 at 9:58 am
Web 1.0 bred a lot of excitement that didn’t pan out, but also left us with a lot of capable people that were prepared to shine as Web 2.0 spreads its wings. In addition, a lot of the IDEs and emerging technologies seem to have learned from Web 1.0 lethargy. Maybe this is the natural Evolution after the Revolution.
Either way, we are all just in our excitement and the re-posting of “The Power Behind the Hype” is auspicious.
December 9th, 2006 at 7:22 am
I think its interesting that many companies still don’t understand the “buzz words” and who can blame them. We need ways to demonstrate how these technologies can help a business.
One way is to use sites that demonstrate design behaviors and then explain why these design behaviors are better than before.
If you could reduce the new stuff to 5 PowerPoint slides, what would you write?
December 11th, 2006 at 10:47 am
One of the things that is being left out of the discussion of RIA and the like is accessibility. The lawsuits against large-company websites (for violating the Disabilities Act) has highlighted the fact that accessibility is obviously not being factored into the wave of new technologies. It might be cool to have Ajax on your site, but if accessibility is decreased because of it, you’ll have to wait until something new is discovered or until the technology includes it.
Not that the focus of every article needs to be about accessibility, but enough mention of accessibility needs to be regularly included so that it is not forgotten.