Google Speaks: Secrets of the World's Greatest Billionaire Entrepreneurs, Sergey Brin and Larry Page

11.2. ONWARD TO WEB 3.0

With the speed of instant messaging, the computing world is evolving into its third generation. Web 1.0 was centered on computer software companies that arose in the 1980s and 1990s, such as Microsoft, Oracle, and Lotus. These companies developed software that allowed for use and enhancement of computers and everything inside the computer. These early software programs (which are still around and useful) were produced, reproduced, packaged, and marketed much the way traditional products are.

Following the burst of the dot-com bubble in the fall of 2001, the concept of Web 2.0 emerged. Web 2.0 enterprises, most clearly exemplified by Google, Napster, and Amazon.com, existed only on the Internet. They offered a primary service and, in Google's case, often earned money as an ancillary to that service.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke at the Seoul Digital Forum and was asked to define Web 3.0 by a member of the audience. After first joking that Web 2.0 is only "a marketing term," Schmidt launched into a definition of Web 3.0. He said that while Web 2.0 was based on Ajax techniques of building applications, Web 3.0 would be "applications that are pieced together." The applications will be relatively small and perhaps specialized, the data is "in the cloud," the applications can run on all kinds of devices (PC or mobile), and they are very fast, are easily customized, and are distributed virally (by social networks, e-mail, and so on). Additionally, Schmidt noted ...