Many websites that started out as static websites are now adding features like blogs and forums and propelling themselves into the future of Internet commerce. Those websites who continue be ‘old hat’ are falling further and further behind. Just regular people now expect to be able to ask questions and get answers from websites and they expect websites to be at least somewhat interactive. The Internet has always been and still is a platform for information but with Web 2.0 is has also become a platform for participation. Let’s look at just a few of the innovations of Web 2.0 and how these innovations have changed the way that all of use the World Wide Web: Blogs: Blog is a term that is derived from the blending of the two words ‘web’ and ‘log’….Blog. Fairly early in the history of the World Wide Web people could build personal web pages. It is true that not many people did build personal webpages but it was, nonetheless, possible.
Still, these personal webpages were static websites. The owner of the website could post information about himself or his interests but others could only read the information that the owner of the website posted. He could keep an online journal that he could allow others to read but it was ‘read only’. Then along came technology. Blogging software was developed. Now those who had personal websites could not only post about themselves, but they could allow their visitors to comment on what had been posted or ask questions. It was a huge advancement. Because of that technology, today blogging is very big business.