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MunichPersonalRePEcArchiveWhatIsWeb2.
0:DesignPatternsandBusinessModelsfortheNextGenerationofSoftwareO'Reilly,TimcommunicationsstrategiesMarch2007Onlineathttps://mpra.
ub.
uni-muenchen.
de/4578/MPRAPaperNo.
4578,posted23Aug2007UTCWhatIsWeb2.
0:DesignPatternsandBusinessModelsfortheNextGenerationofSoftwareTimO'REILLYO'ReillyMedia,Sebastopol(CA)USAAbstract:ThispaperwasthefirstinitiativetotrytodefineWeb2.
0andunderstanditsimplicationsforthenextgenerationofsoftware,lookingatbothdesignpatternsandbusinessmodes.
Web2.
0isthenetworkasplatform,spanningallconnecteddevices;Web2.
0applicationsarethosethatmakethemostoftheintrinsicadvantagesofthatplatform:deliveringsoftwareasacontinually-updatedservicethatgetsbetterthemorepeopleuseit,consumingandremixingdatafrommultiplesources,includingindividualusers,whileprovidingtheirowndataandservicesinaformthatallowsremixingbyothers,creatingnetworkeffectsthroughan"architectureofparticipation,"andgoingbeyondthepagemetaphorofWeb1.
0todeliverrichuserexperiences.
Keywords:collectiveintelligence,richclient,data,softwareasaservice,longtailandbeta.
heburstingofthedot-combubbleintheautumnof2001markedaturningpointfortheweb.
Manypeopleconcludedthatthewebwasoverhyped,wheninfactbubblesandconsequentshakeoutsappeartobeacommonfeatureofalltechnologicalrevolutions.
Shakeoutstypicallymarkthepointatwhichanascendanttechnologyisreadytotakeitsplaceatcenterstage.
Thepretendersaregiventhebum'srush,therealsuccessstoriesshowtheirstrength,andtherebeginstobeanunderstandingofwhatseparatesonefromtheother.
TTheconceptof"Web2.
0"beganwithaconferencebrainstormingsessionbetweenO'ReillyandMediaLiveInternational.
DaleDougherty,webpioneerandO'ReillyVP,notedthatfarfromhaving"crashed",thewebwasmoreimportantthanever,withexcitingnewapplicationsandsitespoppingupwithsurprisingregularity.
What'smore,thecompaniesthathadsurvivedthecollapseseemedtohavesomethingsincommon.
Coulditbethatthedot-comcollapsemarkedsomekindofturningpointfortheweb,suchthatacalltoactionsuchas"Web2.
0"mightmakesenseWeagreedthatitdid,andsotheWeb2.
0Conferencewasborn.
COMMUNICATIONS&STRATEGIES,no.
65,1stquarter2007,p.
17.
18No.
65,1stQ.
2007Intheyearandahalfsince,theterm"Web2.
0"hasclearlytakenhold,withmorethan9.
5millioncitationsinGoogle(defintionpostedontheWebonSeptember2005;135millioncitationsafofFebruary2007).
Butthere'sstillahugeamountofdisagreementaboutjustwhatWeb2.
0means,withsomepeopledecryingitasameaninglessmarketingbuzzword,andothersacceptingitasthenewconventionalwisdom.
ThisarticleisanattempttoclarifyjustwhatwemeanbyWeb2.
0.
Inourinitialbrainstorming,weformulatedoursenseofWeb2.
0byexample:Web1.
0Web2.
0DoubleClick-->GoogleAdSenseOfoto-->FlickrAkamai-->BitTorrentmp3.
com-->NapsterBritannicaOnline-->Wikipediapersonalwebsites-->bloggingevite-->upcoming.
organdEVDBdomainnamespeculation-->searchengineoptimizationpageviews-->costperclickscreenscraping-->webservicespublishing-->participationcontentmanagementsystems-->wikisdirectories(taxonomy)-->tagging("folksonomy")stickiness-->syndicationThelistwentonandon.
Butwhatwasitthatmadeusidentifyoneapplicationorapproachas"Web1.
0"andanotheras"Web2.
0"(ThequestionisparticularlyurgentbecausetheWeb2.
0memehasbecomesowidespreadthatcompaniesarenowpastingitonasamarketingbuzzword,withnorealunderstandingofjustwhatitmeans.
Thequestionisparticularlydifficultbecausemanyofthosebuzzword-addictedstartupsaredefinitelynotWeb2.
0,whilesomeoftheapplicationsweidentifiedasWeb2.
0,likeNapsterandBitTorrent,arenotevenproperlywebapplications!
)Webegantryingtoteaseouttheprinciplesthataredemonstratedinonewayoranotherbythesuccessstoriesofweb1.
0andbythemostinterestingofthenewapplications.
TheWebasplatformLikemanyimportantconcepts,Web2.
0doesn'thaveahardboundary,butrather,agravitationalcore.
YoucanvisualizeWeb2.
0asasetofT.
O'REILLY19principlesandpracticesthattietogetheraveritablesolarsystemofsitesthatdemonstratesomeorallofthoseprinciples,atavaryingdistancefromthatcore.
AtthefirstWeb2.
0conference,inOctober2004,welistedapreliminarysetofprinciplesinouropeningtalk.
Thefirstofthoseprincipleswas"Thewebasplatform".
YetthatwasalsoarallyingcryofWeb1.
0darlingNetscape,whichwentdowninflamesafteraheatedbattlewithMicrosoft.
What'smore,twoofourinitialWeb1.
0exemplars,DoubleClickandAkamai,werebothpioneersintreatingthewebasaplatform.
Peopledon'toftenthinkofitas"webservices",butinfact,adservingwasthefirstwidelydeployedwebservice,andthefirstwidelydeployed"mashup"(touseanothertermthathasgainedcurrencyoflate).
Everybanneradisservedasaseamlesscooperationbetweentwowebsites,deliveringanintegratedpagetoareaderonyetanothercomputer.
Akamaialsotreatsthenetworkastheplatform,andatadeeperlevelofthestack,buildingatransparentcachingandcontentdeliverynetworkthateasesbandwidthcongestion.
Nonetheless,thesepioneersprovidedusefulcontrastsbecauselaterentrantshavetakentheirsolutiontothesameproblemevenfurther,understandingsomethingdeeperaboutthenatureofthenewplatform.
BothDoubleClickandAkamaiwereWeb2.
0pioneers,yetwecanalsoseehowit'spossibletorealizemoreofthepossibilitiesbyembracingadditionalWeb2.
0designpatterns.
Let'sdrilldownforamomentintoeachofthesethreecases,teasingoutsomeoftheessentialelementsofdifference.
Netscapevs.
GoogleIfNetscapewasthestandardbearerforWeb1.
0,GoogleismostcertainlythestandardbearerforWeb2.
0,ifonlybecausetheirrespectiveIPOsweredefiningeventsforeachera.
Solet'sstartwithacomparisonofthesetwocompaniesandtheirpositioning.
Netscapeframed"thewebasplatform"intermsoftheoldsoftwareparadigm:theirflagshipproductwasthewebbrowser,adesktopapplication,andtheirstrategywastousetheirdominanceinthebrowsermarkettoestablishamarketforhigh-pricedserverproducts.
Controloverstandardsfordisplayingcontentandapplicationsinthebrowserwould,intheory,giveNetscapethekindofmarketpowerenjoyedbyMicrosoftinthePCmarket.
20No.
65,1stQ.
2007Muchlikethe"horselesscarriage"framedtheautomobileasanextensionofthefamiliar,Netscapepromoteda"webtop"toreplacethedesktop,andplannedtopopulatethatwebtopwithinformationupdatesandappletspushedtothewebtopbyinformationproviderswhowouldpurchaseNetscapeservers.
Intheend,bothwebbrowsersandwebserversturnedouttobecommodities,andvaluemoved"upthestack"toservicesdeliveredoverthewebplatform.
Google,bycontrast,beganitslifeasanativewebapplication,neversoldorpackaged,butdeliveredasaservice,withcustomerspaying,directlyorindirectly,fortheuseofthatservice.
Noneofthetrappingsoftheoldsoftwareindustryarepresent.
Noscheduledsoftwarereleases,justcontinuousimprovement.
Nolicensingorsale,justusage.
Noportingtodifferentplatformssothatcustomerscanrunthesoftwareontheirownequipment,justamassivelyscalablecollectionofcommodityPCsrunningopensourceoperatingsystemsplushomegrownapplicationsandutilitiesthatnooneoutsidethecompanyevergetstosee.
Atbottom,GooglerequiresacompetencythatNetscapeneverneeded:databasemanagement.
Googleisn'tjustacollectionofsoftwaretools,it'saspecializeddatabase.
Withoutthedata,thetoolsareuseless;withoutthesoftware,thedataisunmanageable.
SoftwarelicensingandcontroloverAPIs-theleverofpowerinthepreviousera-isirrelevantbecausethesoftwareneverneedbedistributedbutonlyperformed,andalsobecausewithouttheabilitytocollectandmanagethedata,thesoftwareisoflittleuse.
Infact,thevalueofthesoftwareisproportionaltothescaleanddynamismofthedataithelpstomanage.
Google'sserviceisnotaserver-thoughitisdeliveredbyamassivecollectionofinternetservers-norabrowser-thoughitisexperiencedbytheuserwithinthebrowser.
Nordoesitsflagshipsearchserviceevenhostthecontentthatitenablesuserstofind.
Muchlikeaphonecall,whichhappensnotjustonthephonesateitherendofthecall,butonthenetworkinbetween,Googlehappensinthespacebetweenbrowserandsearchengineanddestinationcontentserver,asanenablerormiddlemanbetweentheuserandhisorheronlineexperience.
WhilebothNetscapeandGooglecouldbedescribedassoftwarecompanies,it'sclearthatNetscapebelongedtothesamesoftwareworldasLotus,Microsoft,Oracle,SAP,andothercompaniesthatgottheirstartintheT.
O'REILLY211980'ssoftwarerevolution,whileGoogle'sfellowsareotherinternetapplicationslikeeBay,Amazon,Napster,andyes,DoubleClickandAkamai.
DoubleClickvs.
OvertureandAdSenseLikeGoogle,DoubleClickisatruechildoftheinternetera.
Itharnessessoftwareasaservice,hasacorecompetencyindatamanagement,and,asnotedabove,wasapioneerinwebserviceslongbeforewebservicesevenhadaname.
However,DoubleClickwasultimatelylimitedbyitsbusinessmodel.
Itboughtintothe'90snotionthatthewebwasaboutpublishing,notparticipation;thatadvertisers,notconsumers,oughttocalltheshots;thatsizemattered,andthattheinternetwasincreasinglybeingdominatedbythetopwebsitesasmeasuredbyMediaMetrixandotherwebadscoringcompanies.
Asaresult,DoubleClickproudlycitesonitswebsite:"over2000successfulimplementations"ofitssoftware.
Yahoo!
SearchMarketing(formerlyOverture)andGoogleAdSense,bycontrast,alreadyservehundredsofthousandsofadvertisersapiece.
OvertureandGoogle'ssuccesscamefromanunderstandingofwhatChrisAndersonreferstoas"thelongtail,"thecollectivepowerofthesmallsitesthatmakeupthebulkoftheweb'scontent.
DoubleClick'sofferingsrequireaformalsalescontract,limitingtheirmarkettothefewthousandlargestwebsites.
OvertureandGooglefiguredouthowtoenableadplacementonvirtuallyanywebpage.
What'smore,theyeschewedpublisher/ad-agencyfriendlyadvertisingformatssuchasbanneradsandpopupsinfavorofminimallyintrusive,context-sensitive,consumer-friendlytextadvertising.
TheWeb2.
0lesson:leveragecustomer-selfserviceandalgorithmicdatamanagementtoreachouttotheentireweb,totheedgesandnotjustthecenter,tothelongtailandnotjustthehead.
Notsurprisingly,otherweb2.
0successstoriesdemonstratethissamebehavioUr.
eBayenablesoccasionaltransactionsofonlyafewdollarsbetweensingleindividuals,actingasanautomatedintermediary.
Napster(thoughshutdownforlegalreasons)builtitsnetworknotbybuildingacentralizedsongdatabase,butbyarchitectingasysteminsuchawaythateverydownloaderalsobecameaserver,andthusgrewthenetwork.
22No.
65,1stQ.
2007Akamaivs.
BitTorrentLikeDoubleClick,Akamaiisoptimizedtodobusinesswiththehead,notthetail,withthecenter,nottheedges.
Whileitservesthebenefitoftheindividualsattheedgeofthewebbysmoothingtheiraccesstothehigh-demandsitesatthecenter,itcollectsitsrevenuefromthosecentralsites.
BitTorrent,likeotherpioneersintheP2Pmovement,takesaradicalapproachtointernetdecentralization.
Everyclientisalsoaserver;filesarebrokenupintofragmentsthatcanbeservedfrommultiplelocations,transparentlyharnessingthenetworkofdownloaderstoprovidebothbandwidthanddatatootherusers.
Themorepopularthefile,infact,thefasteritcanbeserved,astherearemoreusersprovidingbandwidthandfragmentsofthecompletefile.
BitTorrentthusdemonstratesakeyWeb2.
0principle:theserviceautomaticallygetsbetterthemorepeopleuseit.
WhileAkamaimustaddserverstoimproveservice,everyBitTorrentconsumerbringshisownresourcestotheparty.
There'sanimplicit"architectureofparticipation",abuilt-inethicofcooperation,inwhichtheserviceactsprimarilyasanintelligentbroker,connectingtheedgestoeachotherandharnessingthepoweroftheusersthemselves.
HarnessingcollectiveintelligenceThecentralprinciplebehindthesuccessofthegiantsbornintheWeb1.
0erawhohavesurvivedtoleadtheWeb2.
0eraappearstobethis,thattheyhaveembracedthepowerofthewebtoharnesscollectiveintelligence:Hyperlinkingisthefoundationoftheweb.
Asusersaddnewcontent,andnewsites,itisboundintothestructureofthewebbyotherusersdiscoveringthecontentandlinkingtoit.
Muchassynapsesforminthebrain,withassociationsbecomingstrongerthroughrepetitionorintensity,thewebofconnectionsgrowsorganicallyasanoutputofthecollectiveactivityofallwebusers.
Yahoo!
,thefirstgreatinternetsuccessstory,wasbornasacatalog,ordirectoryoflinks,anaggregationofthebestworkofthousands,thenmillionsofwebusers.
WhileYahoo!
hassincemovedintothebusinessofcreatingmanytypesofcontent,itsroleasaportaltothecollectiveworkofthenet'susersremainsthecoreofitsvalue.
T.
O'REILLY23Google'sbreakthroughinsearch,whichquicklymadeittheundisputedsearchmarketleader,wasPageRank,amethodofusingthelinkstructureoftheweb,ratherthanjustthecharacteristicsofdocumentstoprovidebettersearchresults.
eBay'sproductisthecollectiveactivityofallitsusers;likethewebitself,eBaygrowsorganicallyinresponsetouseractivity,andthecompany'sroleisasanenablerofacontextinwhichthatuseractivitycanhappen.
What'smore,eBay'scompetitiveadvantagecomesalmostentirelyfromthecriticalmassofbuyersandsellers,whichmakesanynewentrantofferingsimilarservicessignificantlylessattractive.
AmazonsellsthesameproductsascompetitorssuchasBarnesandnoble.
com,andtheyreceivethesameproductdescriptions,coverimages,andeditorialcontentfromtheirvendors.
ButAmazonhasmadeascienceofuserengagement.
Theyhaveanorderofmagnitudemoreuserreviews,invitationstoparticipateinvariedwaysonvirtuallyeverypage--andevenmoreimportantly,theyuseuseractivitytoproducebettersearchresults.
WhileaBarnesandnoble.
comsearchislikelytoleadwiththecompany'sownproducts,orsponsoredresults,Amazonalwaysleadswith"mostpopular",areal-timecomputationbasednotonlyonsalesbutotherfactorsthatAmazoninsiderscallthe"flow"aroundproducts.
Withanorderofmagnitudemoreuserparticipation,it'snosurprisethatAmazon'ssalesalsooutpacecompetitors.
Now,innovativecompaniesthatpickuponthisinsightandperhapsextenditevenfurther,aremakingtheirmarkontheweb:Wikipedia,anonlineencyclopediabasedontheunlikelynotionthatanentrycanbeaddedbyanywebuser,andeditedbyanyother,isaradicalexperimentintrust,applyingEricRaymond'sdictum(originallycoinedinthecontextofopensourcesoftware)that"withenougheyeballs,allbugsareshallow,"tocontentcreation.
Wikipediaisalreadyinthetop100websites,andmanythinkitwillbeinthetoptenbeforelong.
Thisisaprofoundchangeinthedynamicsofcontentcreation!
Siteslikedel.
icio.
usandFlickr,twocompaniesthathavereceivedagreatdealofattentionoflate,havepioneeredaconceptthatsomepeoplecall"folksonomy"(incontrasttotaxonomy),astyleofcollaborativecategorizationofsitesusingfreelychosenkeywords,oftenreferredtoastags.
Taggingallowsforthekindofmultiple,overlappingassociationsthatthebrainitselfuses,ratherthanrigidcategories.
Inthecanonicalexample,aFlickrphotoofapuppymightbetaggedboth"puppy"and"cute"--allowingforretrievalalongnaturalaxesgenerateduseractivity.
24No.
65,1stQ.
2007CollaborativespamfilteringproductslikeCloudmarkaggregatetheindividualdecisionsofemailusersaboutwhatisandisnotspam,outperformingsystemsthatrelyonanalysisofthemessagesthemselves.
Itisatruismthatthegreatestinternetsuccessstoriesdon'tadvertisetheirproducts.
Theiradoptionisdrivenby"viralmarketing"--thatis,recommendationspropagatingdirectlyfromoneusertoanother.
Youcanalmostmakethecasethatifasiteorproductreliesonadvertisingtogetthewordout,itisn'tWeb2.
0.
Evenmuchoftheinfrastructureoftheweb-includingtheLinux,Apache,MySQL,andPerl,PHP,orPythoncodeinvolvedinmostwebservers-reliesonthepeer-productionmethodsofopensource,inthemselvesaninstanceofcollective,net-enabledintelligence.
Therearemorethan100,000opensourcesoftwareprojectslistedonSourceForge.
net.
Anyonecanaddaproject,anyonecandownloadandusethecode,andnewprojectsmigratefromtheedgestothecenterasaresultofusersputtingthemtowork,anorganicsoftwareadoptionprocessrelyingalmostentirelyonviralmarketing.
Thelesson:NetworkeffectsfromusercontributionsarethekeytomarketdominanceintheWeb2.
0era.
BloggingandthewisdomofcrowdsOneofthemosthighlytoutedfeaturesoftheWeb2.
0eraistheriseofblogging.
Personalhomepageshavebeenaroundsincetheearlydaysoftheweb,andthepersonaldiaryanddailyopinioncolumnaroundmuchlongerthanthat,sojustwhatisthefussallaboutAtitsmostbasic,ablogisjustapersonalhomepageindiaryformat.
ButasRichSkrentanotes,thechronologicalorganizationofablog:"seemslikeatrivialdifference,butitdrivesanentirelydifferentdelivery,advertisingandvaluechain".
OneofthethingsthathasmadeadifferenceisatechnologycalledRSS.
RSSisthemostsignificantadvanceinthefundamentalarchitectureofthewebsinceearlyhackersrealizedthatCGIcouldbeusedtocreatedatabase-backedwebsites.
RSSallowssomeonetolinknotjusttoapage,buttosubscribetoit,withnotificationeverytimethatpagechanges.
Skrentacallsthis"theincrementalweb".
Otherscallitthe"liveweb".
T.
O'REILLY25Now,ofcourse,"dynamicwebsites"(i.
e.
,database-backedsiteswithdynamicallygeneratedcontent)replacedstaticwebpageswellovertenyearsago.
What'sdynamicaboutthelivewebarenotjustthepages,butthelinks.
Alinktoaweblogisexpectedtopointtoaperenniallychangingpage,with"permalinks"foranyindividualentry,andnotificationforeachchange.
AnRSSfeedisthusamuchstrongerlinkthan,sayabookmarkoralinktoasinglepage.
RSSalsomeansthatthewebbrowserisnottheonlymeansofviewingawebpage.
WhilesomeRSSaggregators,suchasBloglines,areweb-based,othersaredesktopclients,andstillothersallowusersofportabledevicestosubscribetoconstantlyupdatedcontent.
RSSisnowbeingusedtopushnotjustnoticesofnewblogentries,butalsoallkindsofdataupdates,includingstockquotes,weatherdata,andphotoavailability.
Thisuseisactuallyareturntooneofitsroots:RSSwasbornin1997outoftheconfluenceofDaveWiner's"ReallySimpleSyndication"technology,usedtopushoutblogupdates,andNetscape's"RichSiteSummary",whichalloweduserstocreatecustomNetscapehomepageswithregularlyupdateddataflows.
Netscapelostinterest,andthetechnologywascarriedforwardbybloggingpioneerUserland,Winer'scompany.
Inthecurrentcropofapplications,wesee,though,theheritageofbothparents.
ButRSSisonlypartofwhatmakesaweblogdifferentfromanordinarywebpage.
TomCoatesremarksonthesignificanceofthepermalink:Itmayseemlikeatrivialpieceoffunctionalitynow,butitwaseffectivelythedevicethatturnedweblogsfromanease-of-publishingphenomenonintoaconversationalmessofoverlappingcommunities.
Forthefirsttimeitbecamerelativelyeasytogesturedirectlyatahighlyspecificpostonsomeoneelse'ssiteandtalkaboutit.
Discussionemerged.
Chatemerged.
And-asaresult-friendshipsemergedorbecamemoreentrenched.
Thepermalinkwasthefirst-andmostsuccessful-attempttobuildbridgesbetweenweblogs.
Inmanyways,thecombinationofRSSandpermalinksaddsmanyofthefeaturesofNNTP,theNetworkNewsProtocoloftheUsenet,ontoHTTP,thewebprotocol.
The"blogosphere"canbethoughtofasanew,peer-to-peerequivalenttoUsenetandbulletin-boards,theconversationalwateringholesoftheearlyinternet.
Notonlycanpeoplesubscribetoeachothers'sites,andeasilylinktoindividualcommentsonapage,butalso,viaamechanism26No.
65,1stQ.
2007knownastrackbacks,theycanseewhenanyoneelselinkstotheirpages,andcanrespond,eitherwithreciprocallinks,orbyaddingcomments.
Interestingly,two-waylinkswerethegoalofearlyhypertextsystemslikeXanadu.
Hypertextpuristshavecelebratedtrackbacksasasteptowardstwowaylinks.
Butnotethattrackbacksarenotproperlytwo-way-rather,theyarereally(potentially)symmetricalone-waylinksthatcreatetheeffectoftwowaylinks.
Thedifferencemayseemsubtle,butinpracticeitisenormous.
SocialnetworkingsystemslikeFriendster,Orkut,andLinkedIn,whichrequireacknowledgmentbytherecipientinordertoestablishaconnection,lackthesamescalabilityastheweb.
AsnotedbyCaterinaFake,co-founderoftheFlickrphotosharingservice,attentionisonlycoincidentallyreciprocal.
(Flickrthusallowsuserstosetwatchlists-anyusercansubscribetoanyotheruser'sphotostreamviaRSS.
Theobjectofattentionisnotified,butdoesnothavetoapprovetheconnection.
)IfanessentialpartofWeb2.
0isharnessingcollectiveintelligence,turningthewebintoakindofglobalbrain,theblogosphereistheequivalentofconstantmentalchatterintheforebrain,thevoicewehearinallofourheads.
Itmaynotreflectthedeepstructureofthebrain,whichisoftenunconscious,butisinsteadtheequivalentofconsciousthought.
Andasareflectionofconsciousthoughtandattention,theblogospherehasbeguntohaveapowerfuleffect.
First,becausesearchenginesuselinkstructuretohelppredictusefulpages,bloggers,asthemostprolificandtimelylinkers,haveadisproportionateroleinshapingsearchengineresults.
Second,becausethebloggingcommunityissohighlyself-referential,bloggerspayingattentiontootherbloggersmagnifiestheirvisibilityandpower.
The"echochamber"thatcriticsdecryisalsoanamplifier.
Ifitweremerelyanamplifier,bloggingwouldbeuninteresting.
ButlikeWikipedia,bloggingharnessescollectiveintelligenceasakindoffilter.
WhatJamesSurioweckicalls"thewisdomofcrowds"comesintoplay,andmuchasPageRankproducesbetterresultsthananalysisofanyindividualdocument,thecollectiveattentionoftheblogosphereselectsforvalue.
Whilemainstreammediamayseeindividualblogsascompetitors,whatisreallyunnervingisthatthecompetitioniswiththeblogosphereasawhole.
Thisisnotjustacompetitionbetweensites,butacompetitionbetweenbusinessmodels.
TheworldofWeb2.
0isalsotheworldofwhatDanT.
O'REILLY27Gillmorcalls"we,themedia",aworldinwhich"theformeraudience",notafewpeopleinabackroom,decideswhat'simportant.
DataisthenextIntelInsideEverysignificantinternetapplicationtodatehasbeenbackedbyaspecializeddatabase:Google'swebcrawl,Yahoo!
'sdirectory(andwebcrawl),Amazon'sdatabaseofproducts,eBay'sdatabaseofproductsandsellers,MapQuest'smapdatabases,Napster'sdistributedsongdatabase.
AsHalVarianremarkedinapersonalconversationlastyear,"SQListhenewHTML.
"DatabasemanagementisacorecompetencyofWeb2.
0companies,somuchsothatwehavesometimesreferredtotheseapplicationsas"infoware"ratherthanmerelysoftware.
Thisfactleadstoakeyquestion:WhoownsthedataIntheinternetera,onecanalreadyseeanumberofcaseswherecontroloverthedatabasehasledtomarketcontrolandoutsizedfinancialreturns.
ThemonopolyondomainnameregistryinitiallygrantedbygovernmentfiattoNetworkSolutions(laterpurchasedbyVerisign)wasoneofthefirstgreatmoneymakersoftheinternet.
Whilewe'vearguedthatbusinessadvantageviacontrollingsoftwareAPIsismuchmoredifficultintheageoftheinternet,controlofkeydatasourcesisnot,especiallyifthosedatasourcesareexpensivetocreateoramenabletoincreasingreturnsvianetworkeffects.
LookatthecopyrightnoticesatthebaseofeverymapservedbyMapQuest,maps.
yahoo.
com,maps.
msn.
com,ormaps.
google.
com,andyou'llseetheline"MapscopyrightNavTeq,TeleAtlas,"orwiththenewsatelliteimageryservices,"ImagescopyrightDigitalGlobe.
"Thesecompaniesmadesubstantialinvestmentsintheirdatabases(NavTeqalonereportedlyinvestedUSD750milliontobuildtheirdatabaseofstreetaddressesanddirections.
DigitalGlobespentUSD500milliontolaunchtheirownsatellitetoimproveongovernment-suppliedimagery.
)NavTeqhasgonesofarastoimitateIntel'sfamiliarIntelInsidelogo:carswithnavigationsystemsbeartheimprint,"NavTeqOnboard.
"DataisindeedtheIntelInsideoftheseapplications,asolesourcecomponentinsystemswhosesoftwareinfrastructureislargelyopensourceorotherwisecommodified.
Thenowhotlycontestedwebmappingarenademonstrateshowafailuretounderstandtheimportanceofowninganapplication'scoredatawill28No.
65,1stQ.
2007eventuallyundercutitscompetitiveposition.
MapQuestpioneeredthewebmappingcategoryin1995,yetwhenYahoo!
,andthenMicrosoft,andmostrecentlyGoogle,decidedtoenterthemarket,theywereeasilyabletoofferacompetingapplicationsimplybylicensingthesamedata.
Contrast,however,thepositionofAmazon.
com.
LikecompetitorssuchasBarnesandnoble.
com,itsoriginaldatabasecamefromISBNregistryproviderR.
R.
Bowker.
ButunlikeMapQuest,Amazonrelentlesslyenhancedthedata,addingpublisher-supplieddatasuchascoverimages,tableofcontents,index,andsamplematerial.
Evenmoreimportantly,theyharnessedtheiruserstoannotatethedata,suchthataftertenyears,Amazon,notBowker,istheprimarysourceforbibliographicdataonbooks,areferencesourceforscholarsandlibrariansaswellasconsumers.
Amazonalsointroducedtheirownproprietaryidentifier,theASIN,whichcorrespondstotheISBNwhereoneispresent,andcreatesanequivalentnamespaceforproductswithoutone.
Effectively,Amazon"embracedandextended"theirdatasuppliers.
ImagineifMapQuesthaddonethesamething,harnessingtheiruserstoannotatemapsanddirections,addinglayersofvalue.
Itwouldhavebeenmuchmoredifficultforcompetitorstoenterthemarketjustbylicensingthebasedata.
TherecentintroductionofGoogleMapsprovidesalivinglaboratoryforthecompetitionbetweenapplicationvendorsandtheirdatasuppliers.
Google'slightweightprogrammingmodelhasledtothecreationofnumerousvalue-addedservicesintheformofmashupsthatlinkGoogleMapswithotherinternet-accessibledatasources.
PaulRademacher'shousingmaps.
com,whichcombinesGoogleMapswithCraigslistapartmentrentalandhomepurchasedatatocreateaninteractivehousingsearchtool,isthepre-eminentexampleofsuchamashup.
Atpresent,thesemashupsaremostlyinnovativeexperiments,donebyhackers.
Butentrepreneurialactivityfollowsclosebehind.
Andalready,onecanseethatforatleastoneclassofdeveloper,GooglehastakentheroleofdatasourceawayfromNavteqandinsertedthemselvesasafavoredintermediary.
Weexpecttoseebattlesbetweendatasuppliersandapplicationvendorsinthenextfewyears,asbothrealizejusthowimportantcertainclassesofdatawillbecomeasbuildingblocksforWeb2.
0applications.
T.
O'REILLY29Theraceisontoowncertainclassesofcoredata:location,identity,calendaringofpublicevents,productidentifiersandnamespaces.
Inmanycases,wherethereissignificantcosttocreatethedata,theremaybeanopportunityforanIntelInsidestyleplay,withasinglesourceforthedata.
Inothers,thewinnerwillbethecompanythatfirstreachescriticalmassviauseraggregation,andturnsthataggregateddataintoasystemservice.
Forexample,intheareaofidentity,PayPal,Amazon's1-click,andthemillionsofusersofcommunicationssystems,mayallbelegitimatecontenderstobuildanetwork-wideidentitydatabase.
(Inthisregard,Google'srecentattempttousecellphonenumbersasanidentifierforGmailaccountsmaybeasteptowardsembracingandextendingthephonesystem.
)Meanwhile,startupslikeSxipareexploringthepotentialoffederatedidentity,inquestofakindof"distributed1-click"thatwillprovideaseamlessWeb2.
0identitysubsystem.
Intheareaofcalendaring,EVDBisanattempttobuildtheworld'slargestsharedcalendarviaawiki-stylearchitectureofparticipation.
Whilethejury'sstilloutonthesuccessofanyparticularstartuporapproach,it'sclearthatstandardsandsolutionsintheseareas,effectivelyturningcertainclassesofdataintoreliablesubsystemsofthe"internetoperatingsystem",willenablethenextgenerationofapplications.
Afurtherpointmustbenotedwithregardtodata,andthatisuserconcernsaboutprivacyandtheirrightstotheirowndata.
Inmanyoftheearlywebapplications,copyrightisonlylooselyenforced.
Forexample,Amazonlaysclaimtoanyreviewssubmittedtothesite,butintheabsenceofenforcement,peoplemayrepostthesamereviewelsewhere.
However,ascompaniesbegintorealizethatcontroloverdatamaybetheirchiefsourceofcompetitiveadvantage,wemayseeheightenedattemptsatcontrol.
MuchastheriseofproprietarysoftwareledtotheFreeSoftwaremovement,weexpecttheriseofproprietarydatabasestoresultinaFreeDatamovementwithinthenextdecade.
OnecanseeearlysignsofthiscountervailingtrendinopendataprojectssuchasWikipedia,theCreativeCommons,andinsoftwareprojectslikeGreasemonkey,whichallowuserstotakecontrolofhowdataisdisplayedontheircomputer.
30No.
65,1stQ.
2007EndofthesoftwarereleasecycleAsnotedaboveinthediscussionofGooglevs.
Netscape,oneofthedefiningcharacteristicsofinterneterasoftwareisthatitisdeliveredasaservice,notasaproduct.
Thisfactleadstoanumberoffundamentalchangesinthebusinessmodelofsuchacompany:1.
Operationsmustbecomeacorecompetency.
Google'sorYahoo!
'sexpertiseinproductdevelopmentmustbematchedbyanexpertiseindailyoperations.
Sofundamentalistheshiftfromsoftwareasartifacttosoftwareasservicethatthesoftwarewillceasetoperformunlessitismaintainedonadailybasis.
Googlemustcontinuouslycrawlthewebandupdateitsindices,continuouslyfilteroutlinkspamandotherattemptstoinfluenceitsresults,continuouslyanddynamicallyrespondtohundredsofmillionsofasynchronoususerqueries,simultaneouslymatchingthemwithcontext-appropriateadvertisements.
It'snoaccidentthatGoogle'ssystemadministration,networking,andloadbalancingtechniquesareperhapsevenmorecloselyguardedsecretsthantheirsearchalgorithms.
Google'ssuccessatautomatingtheseprocessesisakeypartoftheircostadvantageovercompetitors.
It'salsonoaccidentthatscriptinglanguagessuchasPerl,Python,PHP,andnowRuby,playsuchalargeroleatweb2.
0companies.
PerlwasfamouslydescribedbyHassanSchroeder,Sun'sfirstwebmaster,as"theducttapeoftheinternet.
"Dynamiclanguages(oftencalledscriptinglanguagesandlookeddownonbythesoftwareengineersoftheeraofsoftwareartifacts)arethetoolofchoiceforsystemandnetworkadministrators,aswellasapplicationdevelopersbuildingdynamicsystemsthatrequireconstantchange.
2.
Usersmustbetreatedasco-developers,inareflectionofopensourcedevelopmentpractices(evenifthesoftwareinquestionisunlikelytobereleasedunderanopensourcelicense.
)Theopensourcedictum,"releaseearlyandreleaseoften"infacthasmorphedintoanevenmoreradicalposition,"theperpetualbeta,"inwhichtheproductisdevelopedintheopen,withnewfeaturesslipstreamedinonamonthly,weekly,orevendailybasis.
It'snoaccidentthatservicessuchasGmail,GoogleMaps,Flickr,del.
icio.
us,andthelikemaybeexpectedtobeara"Beta"logoforyearsatatime.
T.
O'REILLY31Realtimemonitoringofuserbehaviortoseejustwhichnewfeaturesareused,andhowtheyareused,thusbecomesanotherrequiredcorecompetency.
Awebdeveloperatamajoronlineserviceremarked:"Weputuptwoorthreenewfeaturesonsomepartofthesiteeveryday,andifusersdon'tadoptthem,wetakethemdown.
Iftheylikethem,werollthemouttotheentiresite.
"CalHenderson,theleaddeveloperofFlickr,recentlyrevealedthattheydeploynewbuildsuptoeveryhalfhour.
Thisisclearlyaradicallydifferentdevelopmentmodel!
WhilenotallwebapplicationsaredevelopedinasextremeastyleasFlickr,almostallwebapplicationshaveadevelopmentcyclethatisradicallyunlikeanythingfromthePCorclient-serverera.
ItisforthisreasonthatarecentZDneteditorialconcludedthatMicrosoftwon'tbeabletobeatGoogle:"Microsoft'sbusinessmodeldependsoneveryoneupgradingtheircomputingenvironmenteverytwotothreeyears.
Google'sdependsoneveryoneexploringwhat'snewintheircomputingenvironmenteveryday.
"WhileMicrosofthasdemonstratedenormousabilitytolearnfromandultimatelybestitscompetition,there'snoquestionthatthistime,thecompetitionwillrequireMicrosoft(andbyextension,everyotherexistingsoftwarecompany)tobecomeadeeplydifferentkindofcompany.
NativeWeb2.
0companiesenjoyanaturaladvantage,astheydon'thaveoldpatterns(andcorrespondingbusinessmodelsandrevenuesources)toshed.
LightweightprogrammingmodelsOncetheideaofwebservicesbecameaucourant,largecompaniesjumpedintothefraywithacomplexwebservicesstackdesignedtocreatehighlyreliableprogrammingenvironmentsfordistributedapplications.
Butmuchasthewebsucceededpreciselybecauseitoverthrewmuchofhypertexttheory,substitutingasimplepragmatismforidealdesign,RSShasbecomeperhapsthesinglemostwidelydeployedwebservicebecauseofitssimplicity,whilethecomplexcorporatewebservicesstackshaveyettoachievewidedeployment.
32No.
65,1stQ.
2007Similarly,Amazon.
com'swebservicesareprovidedintwoforms:oneadheringtotheformalismsoftheSOAP(SimpleObjectAccessProtocol)webservicesstack,theothersimplyprovidingXMLdataoverHTTP,inalightweightapproachsometimesreferredtoasREST(RepresentationalStateTransfer).
WhilehighvalueB2Bconnections(likethosebetweenAmazonandretailpartnerslikeToysRUs)usetheSOAPstack,Amazonreportsthat95%oftheusageisofthelightweightRESTservice.
Thissamequestforsimplicitycanbeseeninother"organic"webservices.
Google'srecentreleaseofGoogleMapsisacaseinpoint.
GoogleMaps'simpleAJAX(JavascriptandXML)interfacewasquicklydecryptedbyhackers,whothenproceededtoremixthedataintonewservices.
Mapping-relatedwebserviceshadbeenavailableforsometimefromGISvendorssuchasESRIaswellasfromMapQuestandMicrosoftMapPoint.
ButGoogleMapssettheworldonfirebecauseofitssimplicity.
Whileexperimentingwithanyoftheformalvendor-supportedwebservicesrequiredaformalcontractbetweentheparties,thewayGoogleMapswasimplementedleftthedataforthetaking,andhackerssoonfoundwaystocreativelyre-usethatdata.
Thereareseveralsignificantlessonshere:Supportlightweightprogrammingmodelsthatallowforlooselycoupledsystems.
Thecomplexityofthecorporate-sponsoredwebservicesstackisdesignedtoenabletightcoupling.
Whilethisisnecessaryinmanycases,manyofthemostinterestingapplicationscanindeedremainlooselycoupled,andevenfragile.
TheWeb2.
0mindsetisverydifferentfromthetraditionalITmindset!
Thinksyndication,notcoordination.
Simplewebservices,likeRSSandREST-basedwebservices,areaboutsyndicatingdataoutwards,notcontrollingwhathappenswhenitgetstotheotherendoftheconnection.
Thisideaisfundamentaltotheinternetitself,areflectionofwhatisknownastheend-to-endprinciple.
Designfor"hackability"andremixability.
Systemsliketheoriginalweb,RSS,andAJAXallhavethisincommon:thebarrierstore-useareextremelylow.
Muchoftheusefulsoftwareisactuallyopensource,butevenwhenitisn't,thereislittleinthewayofintellectualpropertyprotection.
Thewebbrowser's"ViewSource"optionmadeitpossibleforanyusertocopyanyotheruser'swebpage;RSSwasdesignedtoempowertheusertoviewthecontents/hewants,whenit'swanted,notatthebehestoftheinformationprovider;themostsuccessfulwebservicesarethosethathavebeeneasiestT.
O'REILLY33totakeinnewdirectionsunimaginedbytheircreators.
Thephrase"somerightsreserved",whichwaspopularizedbytheCreativeCommonstocontrastwiththemoretypical"allrightsreserved",isausefulguidepost.
InnovationinassemblyLightweightbusinessmodelsareanaturalconcomitantoflightweightprogrammingandlightweightconnections.
TheWeb2.
0mindsetisgoodatre-use.
Anewservicelikehousingmaps.
comwasbuiltsimplybysnappingtogethertwoexistingservices.
Housingmaps.
comdoesn'thaveabusinessmodel(yet)-butformanysmall-scaleservices,GoogleAdSense(orperhapsAmazonassociatesfees,orboth)providesthesnap-inequivalentofarevenuemodel.
Theseexamplesprovideaninsightintoanotherkeyweb2.
0principle,whichwecall"innovationinassembly".
Whencommoditycomponentsareabundant,youcancreatevaluesimplybyassemblingtheminnoveloreffectiveways.
MuchasthePCrevolutionprovidedmanyopportunitiesforinnovationinassemblyofcommodityhardware,withcompanieslikeDellmakingascienceoutofsuchassembly,therebydefeatingcompanieswhosebusinessmodelrequiredinnovationinproductdevelopment,webelievethatWeb2.
0willprovideopportunitiesforcompaniestobeatthecompetitionbygettingbetteratharnessingandintegratingservicesprovidedbyothers.
SoftwareabovethelevelofasingledeviceOneotherfeatureofWeb2.
0thatdeservesmentionisthefactthatit'snolongerlimitedtothePCplatform.
InhispartingadvicetoMicrosoft,longtimeMicrosoftdeveloperDaveStutzpointedoutthat:"Usefulsoftwarewrittenabovethelevelofthesingledevicewillcommandhighmarginsforalongtimetocome.
"Ofcourse,anywebapplicationcanbeseenassoftwareabovethelevelofasingledevice.
Afterall,eventhesimplestwebapplicationinvolvesatleasttwocomputers:theonehostingthewebserverandtheonehostingthebrowser.
Andaswe'vediscussed,thedevelopmentofthewebasplatformextendsthisideatosyntheticapplicationscomposedofservicesprovidedbymultiplecomputers.
34No.
65,1stQ.
2007ButaswithmanyareasofWeb2.
0,wherethe"2.
0-ness"isnotsomethingnew,butratherafullerrealizationofthetruepotentialofthewebplatform,thisphrasegivesusakeyinsightintohowtodesignapplicationsandservicesforthenewplatform.
Todate,iTunesisthebestexempleofthisprinciple.
Thisapplicationseamlesslyreachesfromthehandhelddevicetoamassivewebback-end,withthePCactingasalocalcacheandcontrolstation.
Therehavebeenmanypreviousattemptstobringwebcontenttoportabledevices,buttheiPod/iTunescombinationisoneofthefirstsuchapplicationsdesignedfromthegrounduptospanmultipledevices.
TiVoisanothergoodexample.
iTunesandTiVoalsodemonstratemanyoftheothercoreprinciplesofWeb2.
0.
Theyarenotwebapplicationsperse,buttheyleveragethepowerofthewebplatform,makingitaseamless,almostinvisiblepartoftheirinfrastructure.
Datamanagementismostclearlytheheartoftheiroffering.
Theyareservices,notpackagedapplications(althoughinthecaseofiTunes,itcanbeusedasapackagedapplication,managingonlytheuser'slocaldata).
What'smore,bothTiVoandiTunesshowsomebuddinguseofcollectiveintelligence,althoughineachcase,theirexperimentsareatwarwiththeIPlobby's.
There'sonlyalimitedarchitectureofparticipationiniTunes,thoughtherecentadditionofpodcastingchangesthatequationsubstantially.
ThisisoneoftheareasofWeb2.
0whereweexpecttoseesomeofthegreatestchange,asmoreandmoredevicesareconnectedtothenewplatform.
WhatapplicationsbecomepossiblewhenourphonesandourcarsarenotconsumingdatabutreportingitRealtimetrafficmonitoring,flashmobs,andcitizenjournalismareonlyafewoftheearlywarningsignsofthecapabilitiesofthenewplatform.
RichuserexperiencesAsearlyasPeiWei'sViolabrowserin1992,thewebwasbeingusedtodeliver"applets"andotherkindsofactivecontentwithinthewebbrowser.
Java'sintroductionin1995wasframedaroundthedeliveryofsuchapplets.
JavaScriptandthenDHTMLwereintroducedaslightweightwaystoprovideclientsideprogrammabilityandricheruserexperiences.
Severalyearsago,Macromediacoinedtheterm"RichInternetApplications"(whichhasalsobeenpickedupbyopensourceFlashcompetitorLaszloSystems)toT.
O'REILLY35highlightthecapabilitiesofFlashtodelivernotjustmultimediacontent,butalsoGUI-styleapplicationexperiences.
However,thepotentialofthewebtodeliverfullscaleapplicationsdidn'thitthemainstreamuntilGoogleintroducedGmail,quicklyfollowedbyGoogleMaps,web-basedapplicationswithrichuserinterfacesandPC-equivalentinteractivity.
ThecollectionoftechnologiesusedbyGooglewaschristenedAJAX,inaseminalessaybyJesseJamesGarrettofwebdesignfirmAdaptivePath.
Hewrote:"Ajaxisn'tatechnology.
It'sreallyseveraltechnologies,eachflourishinginitsownright,comingtogetherinpowerfulnewways.
Ajaxincorporates:-standards-basedpresentationusingXHTMLandCSS,-dynamicdisplayandinteractionusingtheDocumentObjectModel,-datainterchangeandmanipulationusingXMLandXSLT,-asynchronousdataretrievalusingXMLHttpRequest,-andJavaScriptbindingeverythingtogether.
"AJAXisalsoakeycomponentofWeb2.
0applicationssuchasFlickr,nowpartofYahoo!
,37signals'applicationsbasecampandbackpack,aswellasotherGoogleapplicationssuchasGmailandOrkut.
We'reenteringanunprecedentedperiodofuserinterfaceinnovation,aswebdevelopersarefinallyabletobuildwebapplicationsasrichaslocalPC-basedapplications.
Interestingly,manyofthecapabilitiesnowbeingexploredhavebeenaroundformanyyears.
Inthelate'90s,bothMicrosoftandNetscapehadavisionofthekindofcapabilitiesthatarenowfinallybeingrealized,buttheirbattleoverthestandardstobeusedmadecross-browserapplicationsdifficult.
ItwasonlywhenMicrosoftdefinitivelywonthebrowserwars,andtherewasasinglede-factobrowserstandardtowriteto,thatthiskindofapplicationbecamepossible.
AndwhileFirefoxhasreintroducedcompetitiontothebrowsermarket,atleastsofarwehaven'tseenthedestructivecompetitionoverwebstandardsthatheldbackprogressinthe'90s.
Weexpecttoseemanynewwebapplicationsoverthenextfewyears,bothtrulynovelapplications,andrichwebreimplementationsofPCapplications.
Everyplatformchangetodatehasalsocreatedopportunitiesforaleadershipchangeinthedominantapplicationsofthepreviousplatform.
Gmailhasalreadyprovidedsomeinterestinginnovationsinemail,combiningthestrengthsoftheweb(accessiblefromanywhere,deep36No.
65,1stQ.
2007databasecompetencies,searchability)withuserinterfacesthatapproachPCinterfacesinusability.
Meanwhile,othermailclientsonthePCplatformarenibblingawayattheproblemfromtheotherend,addingIMandpresencecapabilities.
Howfararewefromanintegratedcommunicationsclientcombiningthebestofemail,IM,andthecellphone,usingVoIPtoaddvoicecapabilitiestotherichcapabilitiesofwebapplicationsTheraceison.
It'seasytoseehowWeb2.
0willalsoremaketheaddressbook.
AWeb2.
0-styleaddressbookwouldtreatthelocaladdressbookonthePCorphonemerelyasacacheofthecontactsyou'veexplicitlyaskedthesystemtoremember.
Meanwhile,aweb-basedsynchronizationagent,Gmail-style,wouldremembereverymessagesentorreceived,everyemailaddressandeveryphonenumberused,andbuildsocialnetworkingheuristicstodecidewhichonestoofferupasalternativeswhenananswerwasn'tfoundinthelocalcache.
Lackingananswerthere,thesystemwouldquerythebroadersocialnetwork.
AWeb2.
0wordprocessorwouldsupportwiki-stylecollaborativeediting,notjuststandalonedocuments.
Butitwouldalsosupporttherichformattingwe'vecometoexpectinPC-basedwordprocessors.
Writelyisagoodexampleofsuchanapplication,althoughithasn'tyetgainedwidetraction.
NorwilltheWeb2.
0revolutionbelimitedtoPCapplications.
Salesforce.
comdemonstrateshowthewebcanbeusedtodeliversoftwareasaservice,inenterprisescaleapplicationssuchasCRM.
ThecompetitiveopportunityfornewentrantsistofullyembracethepotentialofWeb2.
0.
Companiesthatsucceedwillcreateapplicationsthatlearnfromtheirusers,usinganarchitectureofparticipationtobuildacommandingadvantagenotjustinthesoftwareinterface,butintherichnessoftheshareddata.
Conclusion:corecompetenciesofWeb2.
0companiesInexploringthesevenprinciplesabove,we'vehighlightedsomeoftheprincipalfeaturesofWeb2.
0.
Eachoftheexampleswe'veexploreddemonstratesoneormoreofthosekeyprinciples,butmaymissothers.
Let'sclose,therefore,bysummarizingwhatwebelievetobethecorecompetenciesofWeb2.
0companies:-services,notpackagedsoftware,withcost-effectivescalability,T.
O'REILLY37-controloverunique,hard-to-recreatedatasourcesthatgetricherasmorepeopleusethem,-trustingusersasco-developers,-harnessingcollectiveintelligence,-leveragingthelongtailthroughcustomerself-service,-softwareabovethelevelofasingledevice,-lightweightuserinterfaces,developmentmodels,ANDbusinessmodels.
Thenexttimeacompanyclaimsthatit's"Web2.
0,"testtheirfeaturesagainstthelistabove.
Themorepointstheyscore,themoretheyareworthyofthename.
Remember,though,thatexcellenceinoneareamaybemoretellingthansomesmallstepsinallseven.