Web 2.0 + Second Life

WEB 2.0 consists of Cooperative Behavior, Education, Information Storage and Retrieval, Interpersonal Relations, Organizational Innovation, Social Behavior, User-Computer Interface, Online Systems, collaboration, knowledge, participation and community.

According to Best, the characteristics of Web 2.0 are: rich user experience, user participation, dynamic content, metadata, web standards and scalability. Further characteristics, such as openness, freedom and collective intelligence by way of user participation, can also be viewed as essential attributes of Web 2.0.

Taking the above into account we might as well say, it has many definitions. Basically, the term encloses the idea of the rapid reproduction of interconnectivity and interactivity of web-delivered content. “Tim O’Reilly considers Web 2.0 as business embracing the web as a platform and using its strengths, for example global audiences. Building applications and services around the unique features of the Internet, as opposed to expecting the Internet to suit as a platform (effectively “fighting the Internet”).

Web 2.0 websites allow users to do more than just retrieve information. Users can actually build on the interactive facilities of “Web 1.0” to provide “Network as platform” computing, allowing users to run software-applications entirely through a browser. Users can own the data on a Web 2.0 site and exercise control over that data. These sites may have an “Architecture of participation” that encourages users to add value to the application as they use it. This stands in contrast to very old traditional websites, the sort which limited visitors to viewing and whose content only the site’s owner could modify. Web 2.0 sites often feature a rich, user-friendly interface based on Ajax, OpenLaszlo, Flex or similar rich media.
So in order to break down the analysis here web 2.0 is basically internet that relies on its users to come together, a network based on participation and encouraging it by letting the users take control. The more users interacting on the web the more value it gets.

Now taking into consideration the above as a whole and applying it on “Second Life” we could say that it is a web 2.0 application even though I feel that its becoming a bit more than a 2.0 app.

When you first join, you are taken to Prelude Island to acquire some basic skills. The tutorial process is relatively lengthy, but that time is needed in order to get comfortable with the relatively complex controls.

In Second Life, your avatar is completely customizable, with myriad variations of skin tone, eye color, hair type, clothing, shoes, and so on. And you can make changes to the world itself: You can purchase some land and build a house. Building in Second Life relies on a series of menu-based scripts that take some time to master. Although commands will be familiar to anyone who has used a basic design or graphics program, they aren’t quite point-and-click.

After finishing your time at Prelude Island, you are transported to a standard starting area. Here you can check which of your buddies are online and move through the world by walking, teleporting, or flying.

Although you can create weapons and do battle in special areas of Second Life, that is not a major draw. The game is designed for a more sophisticated virtual citizen, one who would be more interested in building a 3-D replica of the of their company or even famous towers.
Therefore we can easily say that second life is a 3D virtual world application where people can interact, exchange ideas, exchange information, build and make their own facilities, learn, meet people from all over the world and last but not least open your mind to new things.