Re-christening Web 2.0: the case for iWeb

Much groaning has been heard about the clunky moniker “Web 2.0.” The label tries to encompass a range of technologies, approaches and insights about how to make the web more relevant, timely, interactive and interconnected. Hot technologies like blogging, podcasting, videocasting, RSS and others form the core of the larger phenomenon. But slapping a 2.0 thing on the end of something to denote newness is such a 90’s thing to do. It’s lame. It’s over. Period. Need a new signifier.

How to give it new name? Well, just look right in front of your nose. The current decade is driven by “i” consciousness. The ubiquitous prefix is popularized by the hottest company of the decade: Apple Computer. Apple is right at the centre of this personalized, individual-driven phenomenon. iTunes. iPod. iPhoto. iDisk. iEverything from Apple’s marketing division…you think they are stupid? They are on to something. Duh.

The “i” means “I” as in individual contribution, individual taste and individual expression. The medium has shifted and grown to allow for this to happen. Examples of this are many. Comments, ratings, playlists, photosharing, blogging, podcasting…too many to mention.

The new technologies are about allowing “i” to have a say. So, iWeb. That’s what Apple calls their new web publishing utility, but so what? They are going to object? We should steal it.

Obviously another meaning of the “i” is “Interactive”. The new web is truly interactive and dynamic, allowing people and groups to communicate instantly via technologies like RSS and Atom. A change on one website has an immediate ripple effect across the self-aware, interactive web.

There is a movement in web design that fits with the “i” revolution as well. “i” is for Intuitive Interface. Design is getting better. The focus of a website is now starting to emerge via several ubiquitous idiomatic elements of design.

The irony of all this - and this is where “i” makes even more sense - is that the older element in the equation, the Internet, was all about Web 2.0 before there was a web. Think about it. The Web really stifled the Internet. The Internet was all about collaboration and sharing before the web came along. Technologies like Usenet, BBS, freenets and e-mail ruled the early days of the Internet. These were deeply interactive and communicative technologies, albeit green letters slowly rendering across a black background (unless you had a nice terminal emulation application that let you spice things up). And it happened long before CERN came up with the Web.

CERN froze the Internet in its tracks while simultaneously making the world stop and stare at the pretty colors of inline links and images. We had a telephone and we suddenly shifted back to smoke signals. It was like a busy little ant getting caught in a big dollop of honey. Mmmm tasty…uh oh. Stuck. Static websites were informative and pretty, but that was the end of the story. Database-driven websites were an improvement. Comments came along and started the idea that people might like to participate, and the rest is history. Faast forward to iWeb.

The fact is the Web has only now finally caught up with the Internet. So iWeb makes sense.

“i” stands for “I”

“i” stands for “Interactive”

“i” stands for “Intutive Interface”

“i” stands for “Internet”

iWeb.

Let’s just call it that.