Imagine for a moment that in 1998, Google was operating in a garage, Apple introduced the iMac and the founder of Facebook was still in junior high school.
Fast forward to today. A lot has changed.
We’ve seen the rise of collaborative software and social networks. Web 2.0 has made seismic shifts in our communications, play and work.
Most of us connect to the Internet via our mobile devices. And we expect free WiFi in a variety of places.
The emergence of social technologies has democratized information and changed the way we view authenticity, communications, influence, leadership, media and relationships.
Glossary Of Web 2.0 Terms
Here is a cheat sheet glossary to help you navigate the new Web 2.0 socially connected world.
Affiliate
Organization and individuals that partner, link and promote with each other in exchange for a fee or service.
Aggregation
The process of collecting content and information often via RSS or an electronic reader.
Archive
Collecting data online and preserving it for users to see and read such as blogs, sidebars and tag clouds.
Asynchronous Communication
Communication that occurs does not occur at the same time. Examples include email, forums, listservs and message boards.
Avatar
The graphical representation of the user or the user’s alter ego.
Blog
A term that blends web and log and is a type of interactive website. Contains entries displayed in reverse-chronological order that include commentary, descriptions, graphics and video.
Collaborative Software
Software designed to help people, typically not in the same physical location, involved in a common task achieve their goals.
Crowdsourcing
The act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, to a large group of people or community (a crowd), through an open call.
eCommunity
A group of individuals that who gather in dedicated spaces online to collaborate, discuss and share.
Forum
A message board or online discussion site where people communicate via posted messages. Messages are asynchronous and not real time like in chat.
Instant Messaging
Chat occurring synchronously (at the same time) with another person or others via text messages.
Listserv
An automated email list of individuals that broadcasts information to participants as it is posted or received.
Lurkers
People who read online discussions or information usually in blogs, chats, forums, listservs, message boards, newsgroup, or other interactive system, but rarely or never comment, reply or respond actively.
Mashup
An application that combines two or more other applications to create a new interface.
Message Boards
Also known as forums. Website where people can start topic discussions, leave messages and communicate asynchronously.
Metadata
A set of data that describes and gives information about other data.
Microblogging
A web service that allows users to broadcast short messages to subscribers.
Mobile Marketing
A set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network
Open-source Software
Software with source code that is available for modification and redistribution. Usually developed collaboratively.
Participatory Culture
Today’s society that is used to participating with others and software online.
Podcast
A series of audio files distributed online often via syndicated download.
Post
An entry on a blog, forum or other Web 2.0 tool.
Profile
Also known as user profile, is a collection of personal information provided by and associated with a specific user.
RSS Feed
Really Simple Syndication is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format.
Semantic Web
Also known as Web 3.0. Web data that facilitates machines to understand the semantics, or meaning, of information on the Web.
Social Bookmarking
A method to manage, organize, search, share and store bookmarks of online resources.
Social Indexing
Tagging or adding keywords to media found on the web.
Social Learning
Participating with others to make sense of ideas whether in person or via social media tools.
Social Media
A term often used to define all things social. Specifically means online media transfer like Slideshare and YouTube.
Social Networking
Online networking via an application like Facebook and LinkedIn.
Social Relevancy
A person’s online credentials, reputation and value. Examples include Klout and PeerIndex.
Social Technology
Umbrella term to include all things social online.
Synchronous Communication
Communication that occurs simultaneously in real time. Examples include chat and instant messaging.
Tag Cloud
A graphic representation of popular tags, with most popular tags often in larger text.
Tag
A keyword or term assigned to a post by an author or reader.
Virtual Events
Also known as digital events, events that occur online such as an online conference or tradeshow. Can also include a hybrid event, an event that occurs face to face and online at the same time.
Vlog
A blog that consists of video posts.
Web 2.0
Online applications that facilitate collaboration, interoperability, participatory information sharing and user-centered design.
Wiki
A Website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser.
What words and definitions would you add to this list? What is your favorite thing about Web 2.0?
Other Cheat Sheet Posts that might interest you.
Cheat Sheet For Hiring And Paying Professional Speakers
Cheat Sheet: What Is Mobile Marketing?
Digital And Virtual Event Technologies Defined
Go Hybrid: A Live Streaming Cheat Sheet
Meeting Site Selection Cheat Sheet: Attendee Perspective
Hi Jeff,
Great post !
In fact I would add quite a lot of terms, the most important of them beeing: Tweet, hashtag, feed, wall, groups, troll, like