Web 3.0
Web 2.0 came to describe almost any site, service, or technology that promoted sharing and collaboration right down to the Net's grass roots. That includes blogs and wikis, tags and RSS feeds, del.icio.us and Flickr, MySpace and YouTube. Because the concept blankets so many disparate ideas, some have questioned how meaningful—and how useful—it really is, but there's little doubt it owns a spot in our collective consciousness. Whether or not it makes sense, we now break the history of the Web into two distinct stages: Today we have Web 2.0, and before that there was Web 1.0.
Which raises the question: What will Web 3.0 look like?
Yes, it's too early to say for sure. In many ways, even Web 2.0 is a work in progress. But it goes without saying that new Net technologies are always under development—inside universities, think tanks, and big corporations, as much as Silicon Valley start-ups—and blogs are already abuzz with talk of the Web's next generation.
To many, Web 3.0 is something called the Semantic Web, a term coined by Tim Berners-Lee, the man who invented the (first) World Wide Web. In essence, the Semantic Web is a place where machines can read Web pages much as we humans read them, a place where search engines and software agents can better troll the Net and find what we're looking for. "It's a set of standards that turns the Web into one big database," says Nova Spivack, CEO of Radar Networks, one of the leading voices of this new-age Internet.
Web 2.0 came to describe almost any site, service, or technology that promoted sharing and collaboration right down to the Net's grass roots. That includes blogs and wikis, tags and RSS feeds, del.icio.us and Flickr, MySpace and YouTube. Because the concept blankets so many disparate ideas, some have questioned how meaningful—and how useful—it really is, but there's little doubt it owns a spot in our collective consciousness. Whether or not it makes sense, we now break the history of the Web into two distinct stages: Today we have Web 2.0, and before that there was Web 1.0.
Which raises the question: What will Web 3.0 look like?
Yes, it's too early to say for sure. In many ways, even Web 2.0 is a work in progress. But it goes without saying that new Net technologies are always under development—inside universities, think tanks, and big corporations, as much as Silicon Valley start-ups—and blogs are already abuzz with talk of the Web's next generation.
To many, Web 3.0 is something called the Semantic Web, a term coined by Tim Berners-Lee, the man who invented the (first) World Wide Web. In essence, the Semantic Web is a place where machines can read Web pages much as we humans read them, a place where search engines and software agents can better troll the Net and find what we're looking for. "It's a set of standards that turns the Web into one big database," says Nova Spivack, CEO of Radar Networks, one of the leading voices of this new-age Internet.
Semantics and Search
The Semantic Web, like Web 2.0, is a nebulous concept. "Considering that the very word semantic is all about meaning, it's ironic that the term Semantic Web is so ill defined," says Radar Networks' Spivack. Some, like Spivack, fall into the Berners-Lee camp. Others, like AdaptiveBlue's Iskold, believe in the artificial-intelligence method. And then there are the others: the semantic searchers.
Rather than providing automatic information retrieval, semantic search engines seek to improve on the Google-like search model we've grown so accustomed to. The idea is to move beyond mere keyword searches to a better understanding of natural-language queries. "Right now, search engines can't tell the difference between Paris Hilton and the Hilton in Paris," says Jeff Bates, cofounder of Slashdot, one of the driving forces behind Web 2.0. "There's millions of dollars being spent trying to better optimize search, and that's a big part of what the Semantic Web will be."
This kind of natural-language processing has been in development for years, but it, too, has found its way onto the public Web. Several start-ups, including Powerset and TextDigger, are hard at work on semantic search engines based on the open-source academic project WordNet. It should be noted, however, that natural-language search could very well play a role in the Berners-Lee Semantic Web. His is merely a framework to enable all sorts of apps, and semantic search might be one of them.
A Web Beyond Words
Though Web 3.0 is most often associated with the Semantic Web, the two are far from synonymous. Countless other concepts are poised to play a role in our online future, and many go beyond semantics, using space, images, and sound.
One possibility is the so-called 3D Web, a Web you can walk through. Many see this as an extension of the "virtual worlds" popping up on today's Internet. In the future, they say, the Web will be one big alternate universe reminiscent of Second Life and There.com. But others scoff at this notion, claiming it's just a less-efficient version of today's Internet. They see the 3D Web not as an alternate universe but as a re-creation of our existing world. On the 3D Web, you could take a virtual stroll through an unfamiliar neighborhood shopping for houses or visit famous sites you've never seen. Google Earth already offers an experience not far removed from this. "Today, with a service like Google Earth, you can zoom in on Seattle and see how tall the buildings are," says Syracuse University's Lankes. "It really isn't that much of a leap to actually put you, or your avatar, in Seattle and let you walk around."
The trouble is, 3D only goes so far. It doesn't enhance the very 2D world of words, pictures, and video. For many, the more interesting idea is a mediacentric Web, offering not just language-based search but pure media search. Today we depend on keywords even when searching for images, videos, and songs—a woefully inadequate system. Companies like Ojos and Polar Rose are working to reinvent media search, hinting at a world where we search for media with other media—not just keywords (see "Look Ma, No Keywords!" opposite).
Then there's the Pervasive Web, a Web that's everywhere. Today's Web already extends beyond the desktop, to cell phones and handhelds, but it might extend even further—into our everyday surroundings. At the MIT Media Lab, Maes is toying with the idea of Web-connected bathroom mirrors. As you brush your teeth in the morning, there's the latest news. Meanwhile, with his blog, the End of Cyberspace, Alex Soojung-Kim Pang of the Institute for the Future envisions the Web automating much of what goes on in the home. Your windows, for instance, could automatically open when the weather changes. With help from mesh networks—wireless networks consisting of tiny nodes that can route data to and from almost anywhere—the possibilities are nearly endless.
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