The internet is a vast ocean of data, networks, people and creativity.

Surfing the Web: in the beginning

Just a couple decades ago, the internet was like a messy toddler that few organizations paid much attention to or corrected. Websites followed different standards, markup languages were so loosely formed, and browsers all had such different rendering engines, that nobody bothered trying to add design and creativity to their content.

But that changed very quickly. Groups started coming together and organizing information, creating standards for website architecture and viewing the web as a creative medium rather than just an information database. Within a few years we’ve gone from basic standards for markup to cross-platform integration, scripting, and rendering for how a website should look and function. This transition became commonly know as Web 2.0 which was a tidal wave that the best of web developers were/are looking to ride! Now that Web 2.0 has leveled out, it’s time to prepare for the next wave in technology and trends, which we at Chosen like to call the interWOS (standing for interoperability of Web and Operating Systems).

What do we mean by InterWOS?

Just like Web 2.0 was a term referring to the collective trends that web designers and developers followed to utilize newer technologies and ideas, InterWOS represents how the web has transformed to be more than just about design and data, but has extended far beyond the browser and onto the desktop and cell phones of almost every internet user.

What technologies are used in this trends?

There are many technologies and designs involved in various trends. To better understand, let’s compare past trends with more current trends:

Web 2.0

To put it simply, the technologies that are “2.0″ are the ones that aim to be fluid, futuristic, and user friendly. Good interface design and Graphic Design are two huge trends that are vastly improving the web and are paving the way for new standards for how a website should look and feel. You can see these 2.0 trends with Javascript Animation and AJAX. AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript And XML) isn’t so much a new technology or language but rather it’s simply more developed and supported by browsers. Many developers have joined together to further the simplicity of these technologies by offering libraries to do the complex work with a few simple commands. Lightbox, JQuery, Dojo, MooTools, Prototype, etc are all such libraries that focus to offer the developer a set of tools for animating and communicating via Javascript. Most sites that claim to be 2.0 are using some sort of AJAX or animation usually formed with one of such libraries or have a very clean and futuristic style to them

Another growing trend that started with Web 2.0 and has grown even more with interWOS, is Semantic Markup / Data Formatting. Semantic Markup is a standard for how to structure data so that Web Browsers and the user and read the content more easily, as well as creating a structure that can be indexed by the computer.
Essentially data formatting is the process for marking up content so that a computer and user can more easily separate and organize data. Common data formats are Microformats, XML (eXtended Markup Language) XHTML (XML and HTML), and JSON (Javascript Object Notation). Microformats and Semantic Markup aim to serve content to search engines, browsers, databases and front-end technologies so that the computer can automate and organize work as well as format the content in a clear and concise manner. These technologies are crucial to the web and information architecture.

What is InterWOS ??

With a rise in popularity and affordability of smart phones and laptops, we’re beginning to see a higher need for interoperability between the web and Operating Systems. InterWOS (Interoperability between Web and Operating Systems) is a newer trend that aims to bridge the gab between websites and other media devices such as music players, cell phones, data servers, computers, and desktop applications. These technologies are very apparent in social media websites such as twitter and facebook which have extended far beyond the web and are very commonly used on phones and desktop applications.

As I said before, there are several technologies involved with interWOS. From the desktop using RIA’s (Rich Internet Applications) using Adobe FLEX/AIR, to cell phones using API’s (Application Program Interface) there are solutions for nearly every programming language and every operating system to exchange information across the web. These applications are growing rapidly and the need for developers is higher than ever. If you’re interested in the interWOS trend, start by reading some blogs on Flex and RIA’s as well as Agile Development and API’s.