Web 2.0 – Next Big Thing

Posted by admin | Website Design | Thursday 30 April 2009 12:43 am
Web developers, designers, bloggers, and even major media outlets have been abuzz with talk of “Web 2.0″ this year. Though the term bears the familiar version number so often attached to software products, it doesn’t actually refer to any one technology. Rather, Web 2.0 is the moniker for an emerging set of Internet-based tools and an emerging philosophy on how to use them.
Many people—including, or perhaps especially, supporters—critique the “Web 2.0” moniker for definitional reasons. Few can agree on even the general outlines of Web 2.0. It is about no single new development. Moreover, the term is often applied to a heterogeneous mix of relatively familiar and also very emergent technologies. The former may appear as very much “Web 1.0,” and the latter may be seen as too evanescent to be relied on for serious informatics work. Indeed, one leading exponent of this movement deems continuous improvement to be a hallmark of such projects, which makes pinning down their identities even more difficult.1 Yet we can survey the ground traversed by Web 2.0 projects and discussions in order to reveal a diverse set of digital strategies with powerful implications for higher education.2 Ultimately, the label “Web 2.0” is far less important than the concepts, projects, and practices included in its scope.
Indeed, some Web 2.0 features have been around for years, such as eBay feedback, which allows buyers to rate sellers on their customer service. Another is Amazon.com’s reader book reviews and the suggestions the company gives to visitors based on what others with similar interests have purchased.
The term Web 2.0 was actually coined a couple of years ago by executives of O’Reilly Media, a publishing company that also helps organize technology conferences (including the Web 2.0 Conference, held annually in San Francisco). It was meant to describe Web sites emerging from the ashes of the technology industry’s recent collapse.
Every nonprofit has stories to tell, and yours is no exception whether the stories are about people who receive services from your programs, volunteer experiences, or ways others are impacted by your work. One way to get those stories out to the world is to publish them on a blog.
Short for “Web logs,” blogs are online journals created by an individual or an organization and cover topics ranging from human rights to fashion and everything in between.
ogs are a great example of how emerging voices are not only being heard but amplified. By reading and discussing each other’s posts, bloggers form a massive network that is able to exert pressure on national media and, increasingly, on policy makers as well.
Blog postings, typically updated daily, can include images, photos, links, video, audio, or simple text. The postings are archived by date and sometimes by category or by author. Permanent links, or “permalinks,” allow other bloggers and Web site owners to link directly to a specific post on your blog and encourage inter-blog dialog. Digg, the technology news site, operates like a popularity contest. Individuals nominate articles from various news sources to appear on the Web site. Articles that generate the most votes from users become the top headlines. No editors are involved.
In keeping with many of its Web 2.0 brethren, Digg’s visitors can create profiles and leave comments, creating a mini community.
Since its founding two years ago, Digg’s popularity has blossomed. In December, it had 698,000 online visitors, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, challenging Slashdot, a veteran in the technology news arena that had 1.27 million visitors during the same period.
What’s accelerated Web 2.0 ideals more recently are new technologies. Implementing the movement’s basic principles is less expensive and easier than it was several years ago because of the evolution of data storage and software, plus the wider adoption of high-speed Internet connections by consumers.
Ajax, a kind of software that makes Web site features faster to use, is a staple of Web 2.0 companies. So too is RSS, a technology behind online news feeds.
In any case, some say the definition of Web 2.0 has expanded so that almost every Web site can qualify. Even some supporters agree the meaning has become diluted.
“It’s almost like the dot-com generation if you suddenly had dot-com in your name, your valuation was 10 times higher,” said Yahoo’s Horowitz. “Now, if you have a photo-sharing site, so what? But you have a Web 2.0 sharing site, and then it gets a lot of buzz.”
Web 2.0 tools are important, but their impact goes much deeper than their gadget-y novelty might suggest. Individuals and organizations alike are finding new and increasingly effective ways of connecting through Web 2.0 technology. This is the human side of this technical transformation.
Even the smallest organization has a story to share and voices to amplify. Web 2.0 can help you be heard. This new Web of connections is already allowing nonprofit supporters to build movements for social, environmental, economic, and political change. Don’t let your movement leave you behind.
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Top Tips for Web Design

Posted by admin | Website Design | Saturday 25 April 2009 12:47 am
Content is King. The most important thing to remember about popular web sites is that they are always rich in content.
Stick to your subject. Don’t try to be all things to all people. Keep your goal in mind. Creating a web site is challenging and fun. The temptation to put as many bells and whistles as you can on a page is almost overwhelming. But unless your site is involved with bells and whistles, don’t do it! The purpose of designing a site carefully is not to make it look cool, or win awards. It’s to accomplish the intended goal of the site. It’s a good idea to write down the goal of your the site before starting any design work. It will help you make design designs for the site as a whole.
First impressions count! Think about the message you are sending to your customer. The first page of your web site should be a concise description of the website. Don’t make this page too busy – entice visitors to dig deeper into your site through the use of inviting text and interesting graphics. If you are serious about your business, buy your own domain name and don’t use a “free” hosting service.
Design sites, not pages. Your primary concern should be the site’s overall design. When starting to design a new site from scratch, you should try to create a design that will make sense to users, has a consistent look and feel, and is not to difficult to extend in the future. The consistency of design of a site is one of the factors that differentiates amateur sites from professional ones.
Make it easy to get around your site. Your customer should be able to easily navigate to any page in your web from any page in your page. It’s important to link in a consistent, well thought out manner that users can learn to navigate. Have clear links to your pages and, if are selling a product, make it easy for people to buy it! Show your business name, address, phone number and E-mail address on each an every page. Invite customers to contact you with their questions or comments. Add links to other sites only when necessary, or on a special links page at the end of your site. You want visitors to go through your site before surfing off to another!
View your site through the eyes of a stranger. Once you have completed you site outline, view it in other browsers. Does it look like you wanted it to look?
Don’t forget to tell the world about your new site. Make sure that your URL is on all your company business cards, letter heads, brochures, phone systems, etc. Swap links with other related web sites and consider banner advertising. List your site with the major search engines, but read their rules of submission first!
Keep your site current. Come up with a reason for people to visit and revisit your pages and recommend them to their friends. This could be a series of articles giving tips, a daily cartoon, or other attention catching event. The words most likely to attract visitors are: Free and Special. Be sure you offer something of value if you uses these words!
Survey says… Ask users about your site. Create a survey and give a reward for responding. Ask friends to check out the site, then grill them on what they thought about it. This can be valuable input on what improvements are needed. Often, users can be thrown by things a designer might never see as a problem. Don’t ever stop looking for ways to improve your website. Subscribe to professional E-zines, and keep surfing the web doing market research. What are your competitors doing better? Ask for feedback from your friends, relatives and customers. They will often see things with fresh eyes.
 
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