Best Web 2.0 app?

[Baldrake]

I was just reading Steve Streeting's  blog which referred to LinkedIn as the only worthwhile application out the newish crop of Web 2.0 stuff. LinkedIn is ok, but certainly wouldn't have made the top of my list. It made me think of the question though - of all of these new web apps, which is the one (if any) that has most changed your life?

For me, I think the big winner is Google Maps for sure, with Delicious coming second. Both of these have really changed how I do things. Facebook etc? Not so much.

[K9]

Facebook has certainly changed the way I do various things, particularly organising events. I think there is an age/generational component to Facebook though, in that if you didn't pick it up while you were at college, you're a lot less likely to find it useful. Youtube is the other big one for me.

I've never heard of LinkedIn myself.

[Murgos]

LinkedIn is like facebook but for career contacts through jobs.  It's pretty common for techies to have a linkedIn profile.

[K9]

So I see, interesting idea. Shame I have no use for it really.

[Baldrake]

Youtube is the other big one for me.

But did youtube really change how you do things? I certainly spend time on youtube watching stuff, but the vast majority of my "passive viewing" time is still in front of the TV. The trend to releasing TV serials on DVD has had a far bigger impact on my life than youtube, tbh. Feel free to call this a generational issue again if you wish. :)

[Viin]

How about Salesforce.com?

Not many of you probably use it, but it's a great example of a web 2.0 app that's being highly utilized in a work environment. Another example would be Rally Dev or VersionOne for agile project management, both web 2.0 apps with high utility.

From a personal perspective the only web 2.0 app I use regularly is gmail and google docs.

[Fabricated]

I use Gmail and Google Docs myself. Google Docs has saved my ass multiple times in my classes.

I refuse to use social networking websites since I think they're pablum for retarded people.

[Lantyssa]

LinkedIn is pretty impressive in its matching.  For the little I have used it, I have been linked to two people I knew whom I had no real direct link to through my own connections.  It was bizzare how it picked them out.  (Hartsmann being one.  Another was a long-time friend since college.  All my initial contacts were political activists.)

Were I in the market for changing jobs I can see it being a great tool for finding good people to know.

[Salamok]

How about Salesforce.com?

Not many of you probably use it, but it's a great example of a web 2.0 app that's being highly utilized in a work environment. Another example would be Rally Dev or VersionOne for agile project management, both web 2.0 apps with high utility.

From a personal perspective the only web 2.0 app I use regularly is gmail and google docs.

Salesforce just kind of takes an existing business solution and moves it to the web, to most of its end users it is just viewed as another CRM in a line of CRM's and the way they work hasn't changed much at all.  Not sure how much it has changed in the last 2 years but when I reviewed it I wouldn't have classified it as web 2.0, it didn't have a CSS layout and no AJAX, it was pretty much just data driven tables. 

So if storing the data on database server and accessing it via clunky data driven tables is web 2.0 then I guess the f13 forum would qualify as well.  Using that logic i'd say the f13 forum!

All that aside I'd say web 2.0 has done wonders for my fantasy football!

[schild]

I prefer the social side of web 2.0, like Digg or Shelfari.

[Salamok]

I prefer the social side of web 2.0, like Digg or Shelfari.

yea digg was pretty good way for news of a different perspective, unfortunately it's just too easy to manipulate.  Hopefully the new system will remedy that a bit.

[Viin]

Salesforce just kind of takes an existing business solution and moves it to the web, to most of its end users it is just viewed as another CRM in a line of CRM's and the way they work hasn't changed much at all.  Not sure how much it has changed in the last 2 years but when I reviewed it I wouldn't have classified it as web 2.0, it didn't have a CSS layout and no AJAX, it was pretty much just data driven tables. 

So if storing the data on database server and accessing it via clunky data driven tables is web 2.0 then I guess the f13 forum would qualify as well.  Using that logic i'd say the f13 forum!

All that aside I'd say web 2.0 has done wonders for my fantasy football!

All of their stuff is AJAX now, plus they have a Javascript API to extend individual pages/buttons/triggers/workflow/etc. They even let you create your own pages using the JS API, AJAX, and anything else you want - they'll power the backend database stuff. Here's a presentation on their Visual Force platform: https://admin.acrobat.com/_a13852757/visualforce/

It may not seem like a huge leap to end users, but aren't the best business applications just that? It's on the dev/admin side that you can really make stuff shine in that arena.

[Salamok]

Salesforce just kind of takes an existing business solution and moves it to the web, to most of its end users it is just viewed as another CRM in a line of CRM's and the way they work hasn't changed much at all.  Not sure how much it has changed in the last 2 years but when I reviewed it I wouldn't have classified it as web 2.0, it didn't have a CSS layout and no AJAX, it was pretty much just data driven tables. 

So if storing the data on database server and accessing it via clunky data driven tables is web 2.0 then I guess the f13 forum would qualify as well.  Using that logic i'd say the f13 forum!

All that aside I'd say web 2.0 has done wonders for my fantasy football!

All of their stuff is AJAX now, plus they have a Javascript API to extend individual pages/buttons/triggers/workflow/etc. They even let you create your own pages using the JS API, AJAX, and anything else you want - they'll power the backend database stuff. Here's a presentation on their Visual Force platform: https://admin.acrobat.com/_a13852757/visualforce/

It may not seem like a huge leap to end users, but aren't the best business applications just that? It's on the dev/admin side that you can really make stuff shine in that arena.

I still wouldn't consider it life changing for all but a very few of the end users (mostly the highly mobile ones).  Good to see them improving it beyond what I saw 2 years ago.  I dropped them out of the running mainly because of the bad UI (data isn't as useful if it is presented poorly) and the vertical solutions/addons were ridiculously expensive.  I can get behind the software as a service billing structure but when all your little independent addon and widget producers use the same model it adds up real fast. 

[Sky]

lolcats

[Krakrok]

Stumbleupon.

[K9]

But did youtube really change how you do things? I certainly spend time on youtube watching stuff, but the vast majority of my "passive viewing" time is still in front of the TV. The trend to releasing TV serials on DVD has had a far bigger impact on my life than youtube, tbh. Feel free to call this a generational issue again if you wish. :)

Well I don't actually own or watch TV myself. Youtube is generally my first stop though if I want to check out stuff like music, film trailers and various other errata. It also indirectly involves itself thoguh all the embedded clips that come up in my daily broswing. So yes, I'd say youtube has changed the way I do things, in that for some things it's now my first port of call. I guess I should add IMDB and Wikipedia to the list too.

The whole generational thing was more directed at facebook. Social networking sites only really work if the bulk of your social network is already on, or imminently about to join the site. My parents don't use it because none of their friends use it, and so on and so forth, whereas all bar a few of the people I know are on and regularly use facebook. I think facebook is something which is competing with existing means of contact, for example my mother still frequently writes people letters to stay in touch. I use facebook. Other web 2.0 stuff didn't have to compete, because it was forming new niches.

[MrHat]

lolcats

n1

[Tale]

Youtube is the other big one for me.

But did youtube really change how you do things? I certainly spend time on youtube watching stuff, but the vast majority of my "passive viewing" time is still in front of the TV. The trend to releasing TV serials on DVD has had a far bigger impact on my life than youtube, tbh. Feel free to call this a generational issue again if you wish. :)

When explaining or researching something, it always helps to use YouTube and Wikipedia. They are the two most important sites on the internet for me, because they're so comprehensive. Thanks to all the copyright infringers, I've found so much stuff on YouTube that I would never have been able to see again so easily otherwise. Also I like Google Docs. It's not perfect, but as a professional writer it's a persistent pad I can work on from any computer.

[Baldrake]

I still do almost all of my writing with Word or Latex, but I've now been involved in a few projects using GDocs. I'm not sure what it would take to get me to switch over. Better collaboration support (tracked changes, ability to browse previous versions) would help. Style files for the document types I have to create. Bib tools. This all seems doable if Google puts in the effort.

[Sky]

Youtube is amazing. We sat friday night watching music on youtube rather than watching normal tv. Not something I'd do every night, but it's amazing the stuff you can find. Mostly stuff I favorited from my post in the guitar thread, but then we kept going through related videos. From amazing versions of songs to awful versions (Vai, Satriani and Malmsteen doing Little Wing  ). Nice night of music that copyright holders would probably shit themselves over.

I've come pretty far around on the side of technology. Youtube has a lot of vids I own the DVD for, it's great for a quick reference but if you want a good quality experience, buy the DVD. Still don't like full-on piracy (copying CD and DVD) but the sharing of low quality versions is good for business imo.

[Mrbloodworth]

AVG.

[naum]

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