Lately, I've found myself very interested in the yet to be agreed upon concept of Web 3.0. Noteworthy themes that seem to be popping up in multiple theories include:

• the move toward smarter technology and expert systems,
• the greater need for mobility and data portability,
• and the line between developer, designer, and end user growing blurry

While some believe that this idea of Web 3.0 is pure hype, there are plenty of items that pop up everyday in the blog-o-sphere that make a good case for the "next stage of the web".

One such example is the upcoming software, Adobe Thermo, that Adobe sneak peaked to the audience at the Adobe MAX conference this week. This software, while the details of how are still unclear, aims to make the development of RIAs (rich internet applications) an easier and more rewarding experience by empowering the designer. The idea is that by giving the designer the tools to create functional components and prototypes, it will improve the workflow between designer and developer, and allow each to do what they are best at.

Other examples of this evolution include Yahoo! Pipes and Google My Maps, that make it possible for any user to create a basic application through a GUI interface. In a short amount of time, I was able to create a wine pairing flavor map of Europe.

As the design and code behind the most engaging applications becomes all the more complicated, I am all for optimizing the process via a rich GUI interface. Other Web 3.0 ideas, I am more skeptical about. Upcoming blog post… expert systems, creepy or cool?

Marta Strickland