(8 May 2008 4:30 pm)

MUMBAI: While there is a lot of focus on new technologies emerging in the web 2.0 environment, the fact is that web 2.0 is about democratisation of the net in the areas of content creation and shared experiences.

This point was highlighted at the Web Innovation 2008 seminar today which was organised by Trade Fairs and Conferences International (TFCI).

The inaugural session looked at Web 2.0 Fundamentals and Beyond. The speakers were Lotus Software Development director Michael Karasick, Microsoft India director Windows Live Commercial Rajneesh Chopra and Adobe System's Naresh Gupta.

Karasick notes that the democratisation that Web 2.0 has brought about means that businesss models have emerged for collaboration. There is more innovation going on among users.

Chopra says that Web 2.0 benefits from the fact that people love excitement and promise. Consumer engagement with the net has evolved and now users want to consume content in a manner that is device agnostic.

The mobile though offers a challenge in this regard, the speakers noted. A sustainable mobile platform needs to be created for content delivery. Devices are different and the technology has to evolve so that content can span different eco systems. Content owners are figuring out how to target different devices.

Gupta explains that to alleviate this difficulty and ensure that consistent experience can be delivered across multiple screens, Adobe started the Open Screen Project a few days back. It is dedicated to driving rich Internet experiences across televisions, personal computers, mobile devices, and consumer electronics.

The project is being done in conjunction with companies like BBC, MTV and NBC Universal, who want to reliably deliver rich Web and video experiences live and on-demand across a variety of devices.

If the mobile challenge is resolved, then this device can be used to deliver the net to Indian villages. The expectation among panellists is that social networking will migrate to the mobile and an open source community will come up. In India, though, there is the issue of demand. Many mobile owners with GPRS do not check the net.

As far as the net is concerned, monetisation is a challenge for social networks. A company needs to show the way forward in terms of monetising the crowd source model. At the same time the fact is that Youtube offers content owners the chance to build an online brand and allows for differentiated content.