Web-based+Applications

toc =Definition=

Web-based applications allow groups to virtually share and collaborate on documents and other media no matter what platform or operating system is used. These tools are usually free, and require collaborators to establish an account. Such Web-based applications are an essential component to the social Web.

=Rationale=

[|Richard McManus & Joshua Porter] Enter Web 2.0, a vision of the Web in which information is broken up into “microcontent” units that can be distributed over dozens of domains. The Web of documents has morphed into a Web of data. We are no longer just looking to the same old sources for information. Now we’re looking to a new set of tools to aggregate and remix microcontent in new and useful ways.

[|Stephen Downs] In a nutshell, what was happening was that the Web was shifting from being a medium, in which information was transmitted and consumed, into being a platform, in which content was created, shared, remixed, repurposed, and passed along. And what people were doing with the Web was not merely reading books, listening to the radio or watching TV, but having a conversation, with a vocabulary consisting not just of words but of images, video, multimedia and whatever they could get their hands on. And this became, and looked like, and behaved like, a network.

=Tools=

Office Applications

 * [|Google Docs and Spreadsheets] - Word processor, presentation, spreadsheet applications and more that keep documents current and provides a common location for collaboration.
 * [|Zoho Office Suite] - Similar to Microsoft Office Suite, Zoho offers a word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and database tool. Planner, chat, wiki, and virtual office features, are also available.
 * [|Writeboard] - Write, share, revise and compare documents

Diagrams & Drawing

 * [|Gliffy] - Draw and share diagrams online using Gliffy.
 * [|Imagination Cubed] - Create and share drawings

Bookmarking
Social bookmarking sites allow users to save links and annotate them. The process of tagging, a[| folksonomy], is used as a means of categorizing and organizing bookmarked sites. Tagging enables users to find other who share their interests and search for sites others have labeled with the same tag.
 * [|del.icio.us] - remind users of previously deployed tags, suggests some tags, and notes tags used by others.
 * [|ma.gnolia.com] - saves a copy of every bookmark you make
 * [|Furl] - "Furl it and forget it."