I just got a handle on Web 2.0 and now there's Web 3.0!? It makes total sense...well not quite but the concept does. I feel like I've been exploring this idea on my own and it was nice to see it articulated. Maybe if I had been going to all those tech-geek conferences, I would have heard of it sooner.

I'll be lazy here and paste what Wikipedia says Nova Spivack says about Web 3.0.

* Transformation of the Web from a network of separately siloed applications and content repositories to a more seamless and interoperable whole.
* ubiquitous connectivity, broadband adoption, mobile Internet access and mobile devices;
* network computing, software-as-a-service business models, Web services interoperability, distributed computing, grid computing and cloud computing;
* open technologies, open APIs and protocols, open data formats, open-source software platforms and open data (e.g. Creative Commons, Open Data License);
* open identity, OpenID, open reputation, roaming portable identity and personal data;
* the intelligent web, Semantic Web technologies such as RDF, OWL, SWRL, SPARQL, GRDDL, semantic application platforms, and statement-based datastores;
* distributed databases, the "World Wide Database" (enabled by Semantic Web technologies); and
* intelligent applications, natural language processing.[12], machine learning, machine reasoning, autonomous agents.[13]

I don't completely understand some of it but to most of it -- YES!

I've just been wrestling with Yahoo Pipes. I love the idea but I haven't figured out how to make them work for me yet. essentially, you can use all the cool Web 2.0 tools, like Flickr, RSS feeds, You Tube, etc. and feed it all into a single page like an ultra customized search interface. And then you can mash it all up and map flickr images into Google My Maps and feed filtered content in from websites. It basically turns all internet content into data that can interact. Until recently people were posting individual data (pictures, links, tags, text, movies, etc.) that was more or less independent from what others were posting, now we can take that stuff that people upload on the web and make it talk to each other, see how it relates. So for example, images and maps and addresses and statistics can be made to interact without fancy, expensive and specialized software. It's still a bit confusing but no doubt will get easier. This helps visualize the world in whole new ways.

And I get paid to figure out how this works and how we can use this stuff to teach students and to get them excited about learning. Just today I found some great lecture podcasts on iTunes U. check out the philosophy section. There are some great podcasts from Berkley. So cool to be able to listen to a really good lecture from a Berkeley lecture hall and for free!