Information Architecture and Web 2.0
The second and third generations of the Web (or Web 2.0 and 3.0 respectively) share at least one element in common: improved user experience (UE).
In Web 2.0, the UE is mainly determined by the technologies used (such as AJAX). However, the Information Architecture (IA) is what will really improves the overall UE.
The IA is not a tangible product, but rather a group of design elements and decisions such as whether to organise the site hierarchally, chronologically, or alphabetically. Adding breadcrumbs to show the user the location in respect of the rest of the site, or choosing a query language are all elements of the IA. The IA answers users’ questions and helps them navigate and use the site. IA can be often invisible at first sight, but it will determine the organisation, labelling, search and navigation of the site. Again, this will improve the experience of the user on the website.
The decisions around IA will be based on the web developer guessings on the user’s behaviour. Content and accessibility will address the way in which a typical user in the target audience will use the site and also what content to include.
A blogger will determine the categories and menu in the blog site according to the expected behaviour or questions of the target user. A social networking website like LinkedIn or Facebook will organise the information in a way that is, according to their developers, the one expected to the target users. Facebook will use simple words to name sections in their site, whereas LinkedIn might decide to go for a terms a bit more formal, suitable for a professional audience.
You might be surprised by how much information architecture you can see if you know how to look.
1- Organization systems
2- Navigation systems
3- Search systems
4- Labelling systems
How will the Information Architecture look in Web 3.0?
If we assume that Web 3.0 will be the Semantic Web, the IA will still have a significant role on the user experience.
According to the W3C [*], “The Semantic Web provides a common framework that allows data to be shared and reused across application, enterprise, and community boundaries”.
For this shared and collaborative web, it is necessary to have a general Web architecture. This means that the search results will be connected with different databases at the back-end. This “back-end” will not be visible to the user, who will simply benefit from the information retrieved from different sources. The IA will have to be adapted to the Semantic Web in order to enable the publishing and browsing of data as a priority.
Web 3.0 will connect things to people or data to people; hence, the IA will have to be flexible and adapt to the purpose of the web and the anticipated behaviour of users.
Web 4.0 and 5.0?
In my former post I compared Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. However, as I kept reading the reference for my uni paper, I found people are already talking about Web 4.0 and 5.0!
Briefly, I had defined Web 1.0 as the static web, Web 2.0, as a Social Web with improved User Experience (UE), and Web 3.0 as the Semantic Web (my favourite contender for that title).
I had also mentioned the Internet of Things as one of the latest phenomena that connect objects to the web through microchips. However, there is a theoretical “Internet of Everything” (IoE), which extends the network to people and processes as well (not only to objects). Many say that it is the ultra-intelligent agent; they say it is the ubiquitous web and this will be the Web 4.0. [1] Cisco mentions the IoE in their website [2] and highlights the economic value and benefit it can bring.
The Internet of Everything [3]
Through one of the presentations available in their website we can infer
the Internet of Everything merges
THINGS+PEOPLE+DATA+PROCESSES
over the Internet in order to deliver the right information to the right person or machine.
Many say that Web 4.0 will be the Internet of Everything.
Now the question is: what will be Web 5.0 then?
Reference
[*] World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). W3c semantic web activity. http://www.w3. org/2001/sw/
[1] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/web-40-internet-ofeverything-mckell-gomm
http://bigthink.com/big-think-tv/web-40-the-ultra-intelligent-electronic-agent-is-coming
[2] http://internetofeverything.cisco.com/sites/default/files/publicsectorimpact/
[3] Image from PowerPoint Presentation in above-mentioned Cisco website.
e-Words for an e-World 