Web 2.0... is it just technology? Or does 2.0 refer to the second generation of Internet inhabitants? People that live online? Children that have toys that they raise online rather than the traditional doll. People that meet online rather than in a bar or local club. Hang out with friends using social networking sites.
As a software developer I spend my share of time behind the computer screen. I use messenger, I'm still exploring whether I actually enjoy Facebook. I have this blog and a .NET blog which I post to. And as a developer I dream of developing that one website that will be a huge succes and which will magically make me rich beyond dreams...
Am I dreaming? Let's think... it only takes three steps...
Step 1. Think of concept for community site.
Step 2. Implement site.
Step 3. Earn revenue through ads.
Step 2 and 3 are relatively easy. Tools and toolkits help tremendously. AOL Userplane has a number of technologies that will help you create instant communities. These technologies can be accessed via API's to allow full customization of the user experience. Not only does AOL offer the technology, but they also offer to share revenue from ad's displayed. So the technology is not just free, it comes with revenue!
Technologies include:
Userplane Webchat
Userplane Webmessenger
Userplane Webrecorder
Userplane Desktop
Just to show how it is to implement this technology I've included a webchat control to this blog entry. It took about 3 minutes. One to sign up and create an account, one to copy and paste the Javascript generated by Userplane and then one more to improve the layout of my text :-)
So the only hard part is step 1: what site does the world need? Share your ideas! Do you feel like you're part of the 2.0 generation?
- Mark Blomsma