WEB 2.0 is dead, HTML5 is WEB 3.0

The first phase of the Internet was about access and Web 2.0 allowed users to do more than just retrieve information, by increasing what was already possible in Web 1.0. The term Web 2.0 or “the social Web” is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the Web. Web 2.0 brought a fundamental shift in the way people communicate.

Web 2.0 can be described in 3 parts which are as follows:

• Rich Internet application (RIA) — the experience brought from desktop to browser
• Service-oriented architecture (SOA) — how Web 2.0 applications expose their functionality so that other applications can leverage and integrate the functionality providing a set of much richer applications
• Social Web — how Web 2.0 tends to interact much more with the end user and make the end-user an integral part.

The next phase has been about the platform, so you've seen Apple, Google and Facebook there. But the phase after this is going to be more of the about content, creativity and really putting a human face on the Internet, at the same time letting the users to sit back and let the Internet do all of the work for them. The beginnings of WEB 3.0 are set by HTML5, which is being set up with the expectations of a very powerful markup language .There are many great features to look forward to, and I am going to briefly describe some of them below.

So, why is WEB 2.0 dead? Maybe dead is a dramatic word, probably “transformed” would describe it better and it would also imply its evolution. Because The Web is now enhanced. Enhanced with HTML5’s new features:

• Canvas: consists of a drawable region defined in HTML code with height and width attributes. JavaScript code may access the area through a full set of drawing functions similar to those of other common 2D APIs, thus allowing for dynamically generated graphics. Some anticipated uses of canvas include building graphs, animations, games, and image composition.
• Drang&Drop: the action of (or support for the action of) selecting a virtual object by "grabbing" it and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual object. Many apps that utilize DnD would have a poor experience without it. For example, imagine a chess game pieces that don't move. See an example of drag and drop in action.
• Geolocation: It defines a set of objects, that executing in the client browser give the client's device location. Location-based social media APIs have been storming the social-sphere as search engines have trended towards localization. Over the years, technology starts at a macro level and then evolves to service users on a more personal level. With location-based social media services like Foursquare, Brightkite, iPhone apps– social media will continue to evolve from “What are you doing?” to “What are you doing and where are you doing it?” As behavior is 'socially contagious', location-based social media gives a new tool for advertisers, which are developing more and more campaigns integrating such services and mobile location-based ad tools.
• Offline Web Apps: When connecting to a network for the first time a web browser will download the resources given (specified by the app developer) and store them locally. Then, in the absence of a network connection, the web browser will shift to the local copies instead and render the web application offline. The most famous example is Gmail.

Finally, to better illustrate the evolution of web technologies Google teamed up with Hyperakt and Vizzuality and the result is the Evolution of Web infographic. The infographic, which was made in HTML5, shows the new features that the new technologies offer “in action”.

So, how are the new technologies going to change things from the user’s perspective? The web user will have access to more and more complex web applications, many of the regular activities will migrate towards mobile and the web, making the future more about collaboration, interaction & integration of services and new technologies.