Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is my main focus. The visionary part is not limited to the content of the site. It has a lot to do with the technology powering the site.
Ultimately the site is visionary because it is so USEFUL, both for the site owner and the members of the site. The technology offers tools that increase the site’s usefulness.
Whenever possible I use open source software. I like the scripting language Ruby On Rails and AJAX configurations (see below). My sites tend to be customizations of the following platforms.
Drupal - Content management system with strong community tools
Joomla - Content management system (we don’t use it that often)
Mailman – Mail list tool like Yahoo groups
phpList – Mailing list tool
phpBB - Forum
Moodle – Online education tool
Amember – Membership management tool (not open source)
Ivocalize – Online classroom (not open source)
OSCommerse – shopping cart
ActiveCollab - project management tool
Gallery - photo gallery site
Web 2.0: A site that uses new technology and has a lot of user interaction is a web 2.0 site. Without its users the site wouldn’t be interesting. YouTube.com is a web 2.0 site. Web 1.0 are older type sites that don’t allow for much user participation.
Open Source Software: An application (e.g. a Forum script) that has been created by many coders who donate their time. The software is available to anyone for free. Some software has tens of thousands of contributors. The benefit is that it is free and has had the input of many creative people.
Ruby On Rails: a scripting language (others are php or Perl) that is very easy and fast to write. It is possible to create applications in ROR very quickly and smoothly.
AJAX: combining several tools to make a very interactive site. Things like pages that change when you enter info into it or pages that recognize your user habits are done with AJAX.
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