Thursday, April 12, 2007

Quick Exam Studies Recap_1

The 7 principles of Web 2.0 is as followed:
1. The Web as a Platform
Delivering( or allowing user using) application entirely through an internet browser. A very good example is Web Operation System (WebOS) whereby internet user can conduct simple computer application using a browser.

The Lesson: leverage customer-self service and algorithmic data management to reach out to the entire web, to the edges and not just the center, to the long tail and not just the head.

2. Harnessing Collective Intelligence
Allowing user to provide the content of the service. Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki."Under the right circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent, are often smarter than the smartest people in the team"

The lesson: Network effects from user contributions are the key to market dominance in the Web 2.0 era.

3. Data is the Next Intel Inside
Every significant internet application to date has been backed by a specialized database: Google's web crawl, Yahoo!'s directory (and web crawl), Amazon's database of products, eBay's database of products and sellers, MapQuest's map databases, Napster's distributed song database. Database management is a core competency of Web 2.0 companies, so much so that we have sometimes referred to these applications as "infoware" rather than merely software.


The race is on to own certain classes of core data: location, identity, calendaring of public events, product identifiers and namespaces. In many cases, where there is significant cost to create the data, there may be an opportunity for an Intel Inside style play, with a single source for the data. In others, the winner will be the company that first reaches critical mass via user aggregation, and turns that aggregated data into a system service.

4. End of the Software Release Cycle
As noted above in the discussion of Google vs. Netscape, one of the defining characteristics of internet era software is that it is delivered as a service, not as a product. This fact leads to a number of fundamental changes in the business model of such a company:

- Operations must become a core competency
- Users must be treated as co-developers

5. Lightweight Programming Models
- simplicity
- Support lightweight programming models that allow for loosely coupled systems
- Think syndication, not coordination
- Design for "hackability" and remixability (open source)

6. Software above the Level of a Single Device
- software built not just for computers and servers but also for other devices such as phone, game console and othr mobile devices

7. Rich Users Experience
- one key feature is PC-equivalent interactivity

Core Competency of Web 2.0 Companies
- Services, not packaged software, with cost-effective scalability
- Control over unique, hard-to-recreate data sources that get richer as more people use them
- Trusting users as co-developers
- Harnessing collective intelligence
- Leveraging the long tail through customer self-service
- Software above the level of a single device
- Lightweight user interfaces, development models, AND business models

"What is Web2.0?" by Tim O'Reilly

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Final Show Down!




Our design Engineer!



Our multimedia Guy!











Well Done, guys! Although, we didn't win the presentation. I have back up plan for our idea. Stay in touch after exam! It is an exciting learning journey with you guys!