Web 3.0

Web 3.0 is a term used to describe the evolution of Web usage. It involves changing the web into a database, the leverage of artificial intelligence technologies, the Semantic web or the 3D web. The expression Web 3.0 is relatively new, it was first used in early 2006 in Jeffrey Zeldman’s blog article. While there is much talk of it, the internet has not exactly reached that level yet. In addition, there is still debate on the correct definition of Web 3.0 and what it includes. I will now talk about a couple of possible meanings of what it could be. Firstly, Web 3.0 can be considered as a huge database. A data web would be a collection of data published to the Web in reusable and query able formats, such as XML, RDF and microformats. Secondly, it has been used to describe the future ability for the Web to think in an almost human way, in other words, artificial intelligence. [1]Softwares that will be developed would be able to perform logical reasoning linking concepts and data on the Web. Thirdly, what distinguishes Web 3.0 from Web 2.0 and Web 1.0 is the ability for the internet users to not only play an active role when using a website but even let them to modify the site itself. An existing example of this would be Facebook introducing their API and allow users to embed applications from other sites on to their own. [2]

The application of Web 3.0 in our daily lives will be endless, but I choose to focus on its business use for now. Imagine that an intelligent system designing a personalized retirement plan just for you. That is just one example of how the semantic web can be used by organizations in the financial planning sector. It would revolutionize how businesses can better serve their customers. Instead of spending hours searching for the right flight or the right hotel, consumer will be able to ask the web a single question, and it would present a complete vacation package customized just for you. Currently being tested under a demonstration project, the Web 3.0 system is able to rank all the comments on travel recommendation websites and find the right hotel for a particular user. [3] As this technology is still at the developing stage, it is still too early to predict the downside of it. However, it does stimulate my thoughts on the possibility of employee layoff in an organization due to a more dependency on machines to perform day to day functions.

Markoff, J. (2006, November 12). Entrepreneurs See a Web Guided by Common Sense. The New York Times on the Web. Retrieved September 24, 2007, from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/business/12web.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&ei=5070&en=64c717038a3a7803&ex=1189915200

Spivack, N.(n.d.). The Third-Generation Web is Coming. Retrieved September 24, 2007, from http://www.kurzweilai.net/meme/frame.html?main=/articles/art0689.html?m%3D3

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2007).Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from September 24, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_3