It’s no wonder some politicians appear to have trouble getting things done. Whether or not you choose to believe the apparent “missing keyboard keys” hoax from when the Bush administration entered the White House, it comes as no surprise to learn the new Obama team has found the White House in a state of technological despair.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said:

“It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari”

Maybe when Bush & co. left the building, they did so with the “good stuff” tucked inside their briefcases.

Barack Obama has been eagerly awaiting approval for and the arrival of his new Blackberry, complete with FBI designed encryption software.

The online Obama phenomenon swept through the web using Web 2.0 applications to spread his messages, playing an important role in his success so far. Obama knows the power of the web, and how integral it is to keeping the US moving forward through these trying times.

The disconnected phone lines, six year old Microsoft products, lack of laptops and restricted access to the online applications that helped his administration get this far, will be fixed up quick smart by Obama and his team.

As Sitepoint’s Josh Catone explains, Obama has millions of online followers through sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. He may be shifting into a new role now, but I have no doubt he is smart enough to employ the same techniques that made him President, in his efforts to lead one of the most powerful nations on earth.

It will be very interesting to see how the Obama administration use the power of the Internet to communicate and empower citizens within the United States and abroad.

This post resonates from a NET11 forum post I made, so apologies for anyone who finds some content similiar to my previous writing elsewhere.

Web 2.0 holds different meanings for various groups of people. For example, for the designers it represented the introduction of visual effects like gradients, rounded text and extensive use of CSS to produce a distinctly “Web 2.0″ style. However, web technology commentators saw Web 2.0 as a defining period of data distribution, where web applications and services could share data and receive data from users. The introduction of API’s (Application Programming Interfaces) open for public & commercial developer use saw mash-ups of apps being created all over the place. RSS provided just one way for apps/sites/services to share data with users and other online entities.

Tim O’Reilly, who I think coined the term “Web 2.0″, covers his view of what Web 2.0 is in this article (Keep in mind, the article was written in 2005 – so much has happened since then).

A Web 2.0 application doesn’t necessarily rely on a single technology like AJAX. It could also be built without using an API, or “Web 2.0″ style graphics.

The focus of our attention when defining these Internet periods (Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0) should be on how we are using the Internet.

Web 1.0 was, in short, the introduction of business and eCommerce to the online environment.

Web 2.0 was/is, the sharing of data between applications/sites/services, and the production of data by users.

Web 3.0 is being described as the period where semantics and data intelligence come to the fore.

As we would all have experienced, there is no moment in time where we can define the beginning of one period and the end of another. Web 3.0 is already happening, but Web 2.0 is very much a part of our daily online activities.

The exciting (and scary) thing about Web 3.0 is that much of it is invisible to the user. Behind the scenes, data is being mined and algorithms are working overtime analysing data that will provide us with the next big thing – whatever that is.

Having said all that, it’s just my opinion on a debate that has been well worn into browsers around the globe — and will probably continue to be debated as we roll through Web 3.0 to Web 11.0!

Our task for this particular exercise was to compare two forms of bookmark sites; one as a typical “Web 2.0″ site, the other a plain old vanilla flavoured HTML site.

It is clear that the Web 2.0 version of the bookmarking site holds more appeal for users. For example, the it holds the following advantages:

• Date Display – shows age of link
• Voting – shows link popularity
• Comments – enables user feedback
• Tags – aid categorisation of links

All in all, Web 2.0 has opened up a whole new level of interactivity to Internet users. Web 3.0 is on the way!