I review what I have read and written about Web 2.0. The following three points summarize my best understanding.

1. The Web now is not simply a document delivery system. It becomes an application platform. It can be your programmable oyster through public API’s and web services.
2. With technologies that enable data to become independent of the website it originated on, content now can move beyond websites, can be altered, filtered or remixed by anyone for any specific purpose.
3. The Web now encourages more and richer user participation. Users control how data is categorized and manipulated. The Web now gives people more flexibility to find, organize, share and create information in a socially-networked fashion.

The following are two recently hot weblogs posts about reviews on Web 2.0 applications of 2005.

• Top 10 Innovative Web 2.0 Applications of 2005 (By: Mark Millerton)
• The Best Web 2.0 Software of 2005

If you want a gentle introduction on what Web 2.0 is, I recommend this: What is Web 2.0? By Andy Budd of Clearleft Ltd.

What do you think about Web 2.0? The following is so far my favorite explanation on what Web 2.0 is all about, which comes from Robin Good’s recent article–Web 2.0 Examples: A Mini-Guide–dated October 6, 2005.

The article also gave six great examples of Websites that were built using this Web 2.0 approach. I also learn from it a Dutch company BackBase which has been doing a wonderful job on Web 2.0 and rich Internet applications.

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Memry by PIM PAM PUM is a Flash game that uses the Flickr API to fetch 8 pairs of cards with images from Flickr for you to play the memory game. You enter a tag such as “apple” or “flag” and it will give you images from Flickr matching that tag. What I am interested in is how to do it. It could be a good mini-project for my students to explore.

Related: Based on the similar idea, Spell with Flickr is a much earlier application that makes use of Flickr API. One good thing is that the main source code is included for learning purpose.

A company named HTTP-Tunnel Corporation offers a service that allows people to use any online application while behind a firewall. The idea is to use HTTP tunneling technique to bypass firewalls. Users need to install a kind of HTTP-Tunnel Client Software and subscribe to the service provided by the company. It charges users around HK$30 per month. The following details the working of that HTTP-Tunneling service.

Your Internet application sends data to the HTTP-Tunnel Client, which in turn tunnels the data over HTTP (port 80) to the HTTP-Tunnel servers. The servers then send the data to the intended destination and forward the responses back to the HTTP-Tunnel client. This forwarding technique effectively bypasses firewalls, (or for users who do not have a firewall, but want secure, monitor free usage), permitting the user to successfully use thier favorite application.

So, you now know that HTTP sometimes is not real HTTP. It could be a black tunnel for people to transmit anything they like.

If you are interested in recent advances in Web technologies, Web 2.0 applications, or simply want to check out what Web-based applications are available in the world, this site would not disappoint you.

The Unofficial Web Applications List

This site is dedicated to the growing volume of web applications out there. As I come across new web applications, I will keep adding them to the site.

With recent advances in web-based technologies, any end-user application can put online. The following are just a few items that I noticed recently.

Online Image Editor: With this free online image editor, you can rotate, resize, add text and clipart, color correct and more. It is completely online, you don’t need to download or install any image editing software.

Backpack from 37signals: It is a web-based PIM that helps you get organized online. Someone called Simply Geek said: “It’s like Flickr and Ta-Da Lists got together and had a freakishly clever child. It is the solution to my short term memory problems and heaven for the organizer in me. …”

Kiko - A New Kind of Online Calendar. Kiko is an online calendar that was developed based on the newest web technologies. It is also free for registration.

Writely: It is a web-based word processor. It is still in beta stage. I am unable to test it since the server seems to be overloaded by the overwhelming response.

How many people are online at that moment? Can somebody tell me?

Update: add one more in the list.

AJAX IM: Asynchronous Javascript And XML Instant Messenger is is a browser-based instant messaging client.