Via Memeorandum, via Scoble, via Internet News — looks like Google and Sun are slated to make an announcement today about the much-rumoured Google Office suite. I'm presuming that such a web-based office suite will be by default geared towards collaborative document production, but then again, I'm realizing that as I find new Web 2.0 applications it's not always easy to determine if they necessarily belong under the tag "social software." I'm thinking of things like Netvibes — is it "social" just because you can syndicate RSS feeds (if so, is NetNewsWire "social software"?)? On the personal to social continuum, something like Netvibes or Google personalized home gravitates pretty far down towards the "personal" end. But these apps are clearly Web 2.0 — though perhaps more because they're slathered with AJAX than for any other reason. Does AJAX automagically qualify an app into Web 2.0? Does Web 2.0 automagically qualify an app as "social"? Thoughts?
Google Office today?
Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. NetNewsWire is without a doubt social software. While it may not directly connect you with others, indirectly it is the work horse of my social experience online. It connects me to hundreds of bloggers, blog readers and the other folk; for me that is undeniably social.
One the otherhand not everything Web 2.0 is social. If Google is to release a suite a personal office apps then we're seening Web 2.0 in its prime, but we're not seeing social software.
1. The definition of social software is:
Social Software lets people rendezvous, connect or collaborate by use of a computer network. It results in the creation of shared, interactive spaces.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_software
Of course everyone may have a different view or opinion about this. Because we can also define any Web Aggregator or site as social software by itself, as they are shared, interactive spaces.-
I think we need at least certain criteria to define something as social software. In my opinion the list would start like:
+ Allows users to interact between each other.
+ Users may add connections or friends
[...] opinions ?
It doesn't necesarily needs to have all of this, but at least cover a minimun.
>Does AJAX automagically qualify an app into Web 2.0?
Not at all. I don't think all web2.0 must use Ajax neither Ruby on Rails just because it got popular.
I discreed of all the web trendy moods as much as I don't believe in fashion tendencies.
Ajax is just a technology concept. And a Marketing keyword.
>Does Web 2.0 automagically qualify an app as “social”?
No. Again, I think they are two different concepts.
Web 2.0 is a term often applied to a perceived transition of the World Wide Web from a collection of websites to a full-fledged computing platform serving web applications to end users. (wikipedia)
I think web 2.0 is more a concept about websites enabling you to 've the tools you use on the daily basis online and opening their services through API's so you can use the tool from your own applications.
Posted at 8:05PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Martin