What I has learned in user experience between Web1.0 and Web2.0.

There are many different elements between Web1.0 and Web2.0. One of them is page rendering. Static pages gradually evolved into dynamic pages and information supply change into to supply content and applications. With the new technologies such as Ajax, html5 applied extensively, users have more diverse experience. These changes may affect user experience and whole website design.

Design: Many Web 2.0 interfaces designed similar to the desktop environment. The industries try to let users work online as same as they use software in a PC. For example, Hotmail and Yahoo mail interface was designed like desktop e-mail software to provide users a familiar environment. Gradually, users transfer their habit from a desktop interface model to an online model.

Furthermore, Because of this way encompasses the combination of the desktop application and browser applications, many kinds of browser application like dynamic menus and dynamic feedback with new technologies was widely used in Web2.0 website. However, there still have some issue for this trend. Different Browsers is one of the problems. Compatibility and complexity issues may bring a lot of troubles for the designer.

On the other hand, another different element of Web1.0 and Web2.0 is the communicative way of information. Web1.0 is one-way information dissemination. The message starts from Website owner. But Web2.0 is usually two-way to receive the message. So this kind of Communication style will push website owner to plan more user interactive methods and application to satisfy users’ need. Like the writing and editing mode in wiki.

In my opinion, simple to say, rich user experiences is to use the internet power with new technology to combine with user interface, and make it close to pc interface. After that, it may get rid of desktop software and complete all the work on online.

Reference:

WEB 1.0 TO WEB 2.0- A TRANSITION FROM PASSIVE VIEWER EXPERIENCE TO RICH USER EXPERIENCE

Rich User Experience Documentation

Usability for Rich Internet Applications

Designing experiences, not just features

Mashup services are becoming common!

HousingMaps is a famous rental website for American to look for a house. It was builded cause the experience of their founder Paul Rademacher. In 2005, Paul Rademacher moved to Silicon Valle and wanted to find a place. He sought out all the websites and got a lot of information back. Then he tried to type all the address into Google map and search the place one by one. Suddenly, he fell this job is very uninteresting and boring. It is better to completed by computer. He tried to connect Google map API and Craigslist (a website which supply online classified ads board service) together and build a website. So this is the origin of HousingMaps.

With data and services restructuring, innovation in assembly may create different types of services. Mashups and add-ons become a new way to extend existing services of Web 2.0website. Such as Lego building blocks, mashups integrate various applications together and provide new features. Like this case, countless third-party mashups of Google maps were spawned with Google's open code. Not only HousingMaps, the services like subway stops, UFO sightings, crime statistics and other forms products produce innovative services with Google map. People try to develop a wide range of innovative applications with using open- API and make an effort to use these types of things to find out a new business.

More and more Web 2.0 sites encourage users to use their combined data and provide new network services. These Web 2.0 sites provide interfaces platform for programmers and allow them to remix data in new ways. The participative and open framework may help developers and users easily to integrate information from different sites. These Web 2.0 sites even allow competitors services integrate on the same platform.

In my opinion, these mashup services have some characteristic features and benefits.

For Developer:

Low-Cost: Don’t need to develop new platform and content, they come from open platform.

Quite practical: These inspired services are designed cause the demand for life. In other words, the utility will be more close to the user needs.

For industry:

Widely syndication: open applications may attract lots of developers to create mashup services and promote their own service indirectly.

Identify talent: Discover new talent, like Paul Rademacher was already employed by Google.

Nowadays, many industries and developers try to develop innovative and interesting third-party services. I believe with technology as Ajax development and maturity, these combinations of lightweight may become more and more abundant in the future.

References:

Yahoo goes drag-and-drop for mapping

Mapping a revolution with 'mashups'

Google Maps API Family

Google Maps Mania

Yahoo! Maps Web Services

Content farm- another type of user generated content.

In this year February, Google release their new algorithm. Even they didn’t admit, but many people believe that this change was aimed at the “content farm”. So, what is “content farm”? Why Google must to change their algorithm to fight with them? This is a very interesting story to explore.

When the concept "Web2.0" was be presented in 2005, "Data is the Next Intel Inside" was one of the key principles. For instance, Google and Yahoo have the data of users’ search model and database. Amazon and EBay have the data of products and consumer behaviours. These enterprises relied on these data to provide more services and create more information and web traffic from internet users. This situation expounds the importance of data and changes the position from software to data. Data become the king in the internet world. Reid Hoffman, the LinkedIn founder believes data will be the platform of the next era of the web.

On the other hand, another kind of data is user generated content. User generated content also contributes lots of valuable data for enterprises to increase their traffic and earn more revenue such as Reddit, Digg. The web content publishing is no longer confined to the site owner. With the development of blog and wiki, when users browse an articles or a video, some of them may have some feedback, others users may have another feedback or different ideas when they saw these feedback whatever they know each other or not. With these feedback and recommendation, these activities support a power to attract internet users to join in meetings and contribute their thinking. The Maslow's hierarchy of needs which made by an American psychologist Abraham Maslow mentioned that human will pursue the achievements and self- esteem cause human desire further need of self-identity, including the recognition of others. Because of this demand for natural, this may explain why user glad to generated content and it is not too difficult for enterprises to design a motivational and incentives system to enhance this situation.

However, there has a different style of user generated content happen in recently. It is call “content farm”. According to Wiki explained, content farm is to describe companies which employ lot of writer to create various forms of articles with a specific purpose. Demand Media is the best company which develop this business model. This company owns over than 10000 freelance and writers. Demand Media want their writer use the top keyword which published by Google and follow these words to generate articles. These articles possibly will satisfy algorithms rules and get a high rank in the search engine algorithms. They can produce more than 5000 articles per day and attract 86 million unique visits per month. This way can simply bring considerable page views, make user to click their AdSense and attract advertiser to advertise. This is another kind of user generated content.

Nevertheless, the problem of this model is these companies don’t care about the quality of these articles. They just concern with these articles can easily be searched or not. So lots of low quality articles but have high rank happen frequently today. Someone said these kind of data and tricks are no benefit for public when the try to find out information with using search engine. This is the reason that why Google wan to change their algorithm. They believe search engine is to help people find the correct answer, not get lose in large and indifferent content.

References:

Google Tweaks Algorithm to Push Down Low-Quality Sites

Forget Platforms And Applications, Data Is The Real Asset On the Web

Infographic Provides Insight into Demand Media IPO

Will AOL and Demand Media’s Content Farm Strategy Prevail?

Content Farms: Why Media, Blogs & Google Should Be Worried

The Answer Factory: Demand Media and the Fast, Disposable, and Profitable as Hell Media Model