Web 2.0 terminlogy

From WebWise: 2008

Avatar – A visual representation of a user. An avatara is a female representation.

Blended reality - the combination of the real and virtual worlds. An example is the real world inspired Everyscape [1]

Blog - Derived from “weblog,” a blog is a website that stores and organizes entries. Displayed on screen in reverse chronological order, entries may consist of text, audio, video, photos, or a combination of these features. Entries may be submitted by a single person (such as an online diary) or may be open for submissions from the general public. Typically, users are able to comment on previous entries. Participate in the 2008 WebWise blog!

Blogging – The act of maintaining or submitting information to a blog.

Blogosphere - The virtual community of blogs, bloggers, and the interconnections between them

Folksonomy — The collaborative practice of creating and managing tags used to describe content. Synonym for social tagging.

Handle – User name.

Mashup - Web-based software that combines two or more pre-existing tools to create a new service. An example of a mashup is Panoramio [www.panoramio.com] which combines photosharing software with Google Earth technology to allow viewers to view a virtual map of the location where photos were taken.

Metaverse

Online Community – A collection of users who interact via the Internet. An online community may be very specific (i.e. members of a particular website such as MySpace) or very broad (i.e., consumers on Amazon).

Podcast - A digitalized audio file that can be distributed and downloaded via the Internet. The term podcast is derived from the words iPod and broadcast.

Portal – Website that links users to many other websites. A portal may be a collection of links or may be provided via a search engine.

Social bookmarking – Allows users to save, manage, and organize preferred websites by using web-based software. Users can tag saved websites, which can be used to search and share sites among users. An example of a social bookmarking site is del.i.cious [2].

Social networking service – Web-based application that allows users to upload personal information ranging from hometown to hobbies. This information can be searched and used to connect with other users. Social networking service often allow users to interact via blogs, chat services, e-mail, etc. MySpace and Facebook are two examples of social networking services.

Social tagging – the collaborative practice of creating and managing tags used to describe content. Synonym for Folksonomy.

Tag – Keywords used to describe content

Twitter--Blogging lite! Join a social community and share short messages, limited to 145 character per posting. Great for sharing links, ideas, etc. (Aside: I would love to hook up with other Twitter members--please join me and I will follow you in turn. My site is: http://twitter.com/drmaryannbell)

Web 2.0 - A term used to describe a theoretical “second generation” of users and user-interfacing applications which allow for interaction on a participative platform. Technology and information systems that allow for a community-based, collaborative approach to the creation of content, design patterns, and evaluation relate to the Web 2.0 phenomenon. Blogs, web-based social communities, and wikis are all examples of Web 2.0 applications.

Wiki - A website that uses computer software to allow users to add, edit, or attach content.

Wiki gnome - A person who corrects and edits spelling and grammar mistakes on wikipedia.