WHAT IS WEB 2.0?

Before we delve into the concept of Web 2.0, it seems necessary to define the World Wide Web itself.  According to Choudhury (2014), the World Wide Web is "a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a web browser, one can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them via hyperlinks."  This definition is key for exploring the progression from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0.  Choudhury (2014) defines Web 1.0 as "the first  implementation  of  the  web  and  it lasted from 1989 to  2005. (....) Web 1.0  provides very little interaction where consumer can exchange the information together but it was not possible to interact with the website. The role of the web was very passive in nature" (Choudhury, 2014). From this passive content, Web 2.0 emerged to address the limitations of Web 1.0, where only webmasters could update and manage website content. Choudhury (2014) notes that "Web 2.0 facilitates major properties like participatory, collaborative, and distributed practices, enabling both formal and informal spheres of daily activities on the web. In other terms it resemble major distinct characteristics of Web 2.0 include “relationship” technologies, participatory media and a social digital technology which in term can also defined as the wisdom web" (Choudhury, 2014). This shift could represent a significant change in online user engagement and interaction.