The impacts of Web 2.0 with the creation of websites

People are encouraged to use the Internet for the quick responsiveness and delivery of the world’s information at their fingertips. In some cases, the Internet is changing how media is being delivered to the public. As broadband demand increases, the Internet is becoming an interactive source of information. The additional speed of having broadband access, allows an increase in bandwidth that results with more data to be transferred from web servers and peer-to-peer networks to the client computers. This increases the capacity of movies, video, rich sound, and photos to be delivered to the end user. In result, Web 2.0 was created to improve services in which multi-rich data can be delivered.

At first the World Wide Web was considered to be static in which content could only be retrieved for review. Then in the late 1990's, developers started to create services that use the Web as a communication medium to other people. Services such as Napster allowed music to be shared across the country. This became very popular and more people started to use the Web in other ways than just reviewing information. This eventually led to the development of Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 are complex software services used to make a website more dynamic. It incorporates new ideas, technologies, bundled together to improve the relationship of end users and businesses. In order for a website to be successful, it needs to incorporate Web 2.0 technologies and methodologies. Such technology includes AJAX, Flash, podcast, and web blogs.

AJAX is short for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. AJAX is very popular because it allows websites to behave as applications that can process complex data such as Goggle Maps. Even though AJAX is very effective for a website to behave as applications, AJAX has its disadvantages. When a user is using this technology the data is transferred to the server to be processed. Then it transfers it back to the client so that it can be displayed. This transferring and processing of data to the server slows throughput time.

Computers are becoming more powerful with the introduction of multi-core processing. This processing power with addition to broadband access is allowing TV like content to be displayed on the computer. Majority of web developers are displaying this TV like content using Flash technology. Flash is scripting language developed my Macromedia now Adobe that allows video, animations, and photos to be displayed in the web browser.

Podcast is a collection of media files being distributed over the Internet. Pod-casting is not necessarily developed in a website; however, users can download or stream it to their computers. Podcast is distinguished from other digital media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed, and downloaded automatically when new content is added. This technology uses a feed reader capable of reading feed formats such as RSS. Pod-casting is effective with audio or video blogging.

Web blogs is a way in which users comment on certain topics and use the Internet to publish it for the world to see. It is a good communication device to share, express, and acknowledge different viewpoints that has become popular with social networking websites such as Myspace, Facebook, and Blogger. In addition, websites such as Washington Post, NY Times, and Appleinsider uses web blogs to comment on technology topics.

With the addition to more bandwidth and more powerful computers, Web 2.0 gives ability for rich content and services to be transferred, processed, and communicated to the end users and businesses. Businesses are looking for ways to incorporate applications to the web, news and content providers are trying to integrate alternative methods of distribution to the masses, and the entertainment industry are trying to appeal customers in more interactive ways other than traditional methods. In order for these businesses to be successful, they have innovate using Web 2.0 technology but most important it has to be appealing, and easy to use to the consumers, customers, or end users.

Enhancements to Yahoo Homepage

The Internet is becoming a popular media resource. Millions of users are going to the Internet as alternative source to obtain news, weather, and entertainment than traditional methods. Considering that services on the Internet generates large amount of revenue, many website designers and developers are in the process of developing dynamic websites to attract the end users. Generally speaking, the more users visit a website “hits” the greater chances of increase of potential revenue that company will receive.

That is the case of the Internet Company called Yahoo. According Nielsen NetRatings, Yahoo is ranked number two for the top ten parent companies on the Internet. Even though it is ranked at number two, Yahoo revenue has been continuously declining due to the competitive products and services offer by other Internet companies such as Google. One way for Yahoo to stay competitive is by improving areas that have been a problem such as the Yahoo homepage.


Advertisement
Advertisement is a huge revenue source for Internet search companies such as Yahoo. In result, providing advertisements on their websites generates majority of Yahoo’s revenue according to an article on businessweekonline(Yahoo! Manages an Upside Surprise, For Now). Majority of the U.S. citizens’ read left to right; however, the first thing I notice by launching the homepage is the block of pictures to right. These pictures initially distract my process because I have to decipher if those pictures are an advertisement, or if it is a legitimate web content link. It is understandable that this company has to make money, but it should display advertisements in a more intuitive design. For example, a simple fieldset would suffice. Yahoo could provide an advertisement title that is located on top of the advertisement picture. This would allow the end user to quickly determine if the picture is an advertisement, which will improve organization of the web content located on the homepage.

Automatic Customization/Streamlining Web Content
Yahoo has added a customization feature to its homepage. This feature allows the user to change, add/remove, and relocate content on users’ desired spot on the web page. Even though this is excellent feature that allows the user flexibility as they customize their homepage, Yahoo could raise the bar by having the customize web page set as a default every time the user visit the official Yahoo homepage. Currently, the end user has to click on a separate button to access this feature. By eliminating this button and setting the customize webpage to default, will allow the end users to access the web content and applications quickly. The user may use the customize web page as their main source of web content eliminating the needs to visit multiple web sites.

Compatibility
One major flaw is new design of Yahoo Mail. Yahoo Mail does not work using the Safari browser on an Apple computer. I use an Apple computer majority of times as my home personal computer. Even though the Macintosh operating system has a disadvantage with compatibility with Windows machines, I fell that Yahoo could have done a better job with its mail application compatibility issues . I have to use the old design of the mail application for the Safari browser, or I have to use other browsers such as Firefox. They recently took the beta stage of the new mail application and released it the public. Considering that it has been in a beta stage for over a year, I feel that it is still not complete.

Yahoo homepage has been known to be a clutter intensive website in the past. Currently, the company has made improvements to decrease the clutter and enhance attractiveness; however, I found some areas that still need improvements and enhancements.


http://www.internetworldstats.com/top10.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/techbeat/archives/2007/10/yahoo_pulls_it.html?chan=search

Y Hello

Hello Everyone!

I'm at technology enthusiast that loves the way technology influence our every day lives. Every since I was child, I was had a knack of fixing things especially electronical items. Eventually, I went to a technical school and got a degree in Electronics Engineering. Currently, I'm enrolled at University of Phoenix to complete my degree in Information Technology.

This blog is intended to learn, share, and have good conversations about technology. All topics are welcome; however, some of the topics that really interest me are new products and services, ecommerce, wireless technology, processors, and operating systems.

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