Definition of Web 2.0 and social software

There is no single agreed definition of the terms Web 2.0 – also known as the Social Web – and
social software, but there is widespread agreement that they apply to a set of characteristics in the context of the internet and applications served over it.5 The characteristics include access and use through a web browser such as, for example, Internet Explorer of Firefox; being both supportive and encouraging of user participation in the sharing, consumption and generation of content, including through remixing and repurposing; and also amenable to developments in functionality consistent with user demand – users can and do, in effect, contribute to service and software design.
At its simplest, social software has been defined as ‘software that supports group interaction’.6
Elaborations include ‘software that allows people to interact and collaborate online or that
aggregates the actions of networked users’;7 ‘a set of internet services and practices that give voice to individual users’;8 and, in the specific context of learning, ‘networked tools that support and encourage individuals to learn together whilst retaining control over their time, space, presence, activity, identity and relationship.’
The most familiar and widely recognised types of Web 2.0 activity include the following:-

Blogging
An internet-based journal or diary in which a user can post text and digital material while others can comment, eg blogger; technorati; twitter.

Conversing
One to one or one to many between internet users, eg MSN

Media sharing
Uploading or downloading media files for purposes of audience or exchange, eg flikr; YouTube

Online gaming and virtual worlds
Rule-governed games or themed environments that invite live interaction with other internet users, eg secondlife; worldofwarcraft.

Social bookmarking
Users submit their bookmarked web pages to a central site where they can be found and tagged by other users, eg del.icio.us.

Social networking
Websites that structure social interaction between members who may form sub-groups of ‘friends’,eg myspace; bebo; facebook.

Syndication
Users can subscribe to RSS (Really Simply Syndication) feed-enabled websites so that they are
automatically notified of any changes or updates in content via an aggregator, eg bloglines; Podcast.

Trading
Buying, selling or exchanging through user transactions mediated by internet communications, eg craigslist; e-bay.

Wikis
A web-based service allowing users unrestricted access to create, edit and link pages, eg wikipedia