What Web 2.0 Means for Content Production
In the spirit of Web 2.0 (a somewhat nebulous term, but...), this site is now served as 100% static HTML.
"What?", you may ask — "Isn't Web 2.0 all about making sites more dynamic?"
In fact, this site became more dynamic by dropping the server-side code. The dynamic components are simply now moved off my server and into the cloud. Commenting has gone to Disqus, and search has gone to Lijit. These free services provide better tools than my previous Drupal install, and are easier to set up and manage. Users may be already be familiar with these services, or may already have accounts. In the few weeks I've used Disqus, the number of comments has increased dramatically.
Editing is easier for me, using only plain text Markdown files managed with the same tools I use for coding: Gedit and bzr. A custom python script (open source release forthcoming) transforms the markdown files into HTML with templating applied, and bzr's upload plugin pushes the site up to the server. Oh how the site flies when everything is static, cacheable content!
Web 2.0 is almost a return towards the original vision of the creators of the Web, that everyone would have the ability to easily publish. The social content production tools further democratize the production and dissemination of information. No longer do content documents need to be be backed by database-driven behemoths to do the templating and dynamism everyone expects. The web has become a set of URI-identified documents with a set of social tools layered on top for meta-services such as sharing and commenting.
The content sharing services need to be centralized around the users, but the content itself can sit anywhere. Layers form organically around the content with user discussion and linking, providing value by selecting the best content and providing personal opinion. Infrastructure centralizes around the users, rather than around the content. That is really the defining concept of Web 2.0: a focus on the users, on everybody, rather than on the centralized silos of the traditional media and large corporations. The location of the content doesn't matter so much anymore; it gets to the users the same way, whether it's via RSS or because a friend shared it on Facebook. With this shift in infrastructure, the power goes to the people.
What is Web 2.0 to you? Respond to this article in the new, Disqus-powered, comment area.
