Mod 2.

3 – The evolving Web

The Internet is everywhere
◆ Always on – Devices are never powered off
◆ Always connected – A connection to the internet is always available
◆ Internet – A worldwide computer network linked by telephone lines and cables
◆ WWW – Web pages available to computers and devices connected to the internet
◆ Internet and WWW are interchangeable

The role of searching

◆ Search engine – A program that searches for sites in the internet based on user input
◆ Reasons for dissatisfaction of results by search engine
o Too many unrelated ads
o SEO by some organisations causes undesired results to appear
o Some sites are poor quality. They gain money based on ‘visitors’ viewing the site. An
ad filled page is not worth while
o Even using good search terms don’t give expected results
◆ Click farms – Businesses that use low paid workers to make high web traffic by repetitively
clicking on a link
o This is fraud as google pays the site owner based on how many times the page is
viewed

Improved searching
◆ Websites provide free services to keep users happy, but need to insert ads to keep the sites
well-funded

Profiled or customised searches

◆ Searching techniques used by search engines to customise your search results
◆ Based on your profile from your subscriptions to their free services (e.g. Google Docs)
o You then get custom search results

Context-aware searches
◆ A search where context is used to make search results more relevant to the user
◆ Your physical location or past history searches are used to make more relevant results

Mediated searches
◆ Searches mediated by humans and not algorithms
o Fewer results but of a higher quality
 ◆ Mediation – When a third-party assists in finding a solution
◆ Curated – Selecting and organising online content, by a knowledgeable group of people
◆ Model 1 – People manually check for a sites of a topic for its quality and make an indexed list
based on the results
o E.g. Yahoo and Mahalo.
◆ Model 2 – Social networks are used to show the likes and dislikes of web content
o E.g. YouTube and Facebook

Semantic searches
◆ Semantic web – Web 3.0. Theoretical web that allows computers without a human operator,
to conduct automated searches for information
o Metadata – Data describing what the content is
o All webpages will contain very detailed and well-structured metadata
o The search engine will then put the information into context, matching the user’s
personalised search criteria to the metadata of the webpages, finding a selection of
more appropriate results
o E.g. Initially asking, “What is the biggest mammal?”, then asking “How big is it”. “It”
would be referring to the biggest animal: a blue whale.

Current usage trends

◆ The Web is now more commonly used as a social space (Web 2.0)
◆ The cloud and online applications are also more frequently used

The cloud – its effects on people and the Web

◆ Online applications – Software made and designed to run in a browser window
o Not dependent on the device
o Requires a good, fast internet connection (S.A. is one of the most expensive)
o E.g. Microsoft Office, Google docs

◆ Connected ‘apps’ – Software installed on a device that relies on data stored in the cloud to
work
o Alternative to online apps
o More convenient as the data will be available across all devices

◆ Online services – Organizations that provide an information service over the internet
o E.g. Search engines, cloud storage services and application service providers (using
the Facebook app)
o Minimises the data footprint – Less data is used
The ‘appification’ of the web
◆ Using the app version provided by an organisation is very effective
o Effective for slow internet response
◆ Advantages
o App interface is easier to navigate
o The app has a dedicated purpose. No outside links
o No need to remember website names
o Minimises data usage
o User is notified more easily, even in background
o Enables effective syncing
o Can use sensors (GPS, accelerometers…)
◆ Browser-based discovery of sites decrease
◆ Downside is people may be an appaholic
o Having too many apps and forgetting how to use them
o Resulting in going back to the web using the browser

The ‘Internet of Things’

◆ A belief that any device should be able to connect to the internet
o Theoretical concept
o Enables effective monitoring and control
◆ Enabling sensors, causing it to be an ‘intelligent’ device, making logical decisions
o E.g. Printer knowing ink is running out and automatically ordering a new one online

◆ Consumer level examples

◆ Belkin’s WeMo devices
o Technology that connects to your home WIFI and is able to remotely switch on/off
any connected device
o Includes motion detection and can open/close the garage
◆ Phillips Hue
o Managing a range of connected light bulbs, changing their colour too
◆ Oregon Scientific’s Weather Anywhere connected weather station
o Gives real time weather information stored in ‘the cloud’, history can be read to
make an analysis
o Uses multiple sensors (temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity and
rainfall)
◆ Nest thermostat
o Energy efficient thermostat that monitors the user’s behaviour patterns – turning off
and on
o Can be controlled by a device
o GPS enables it to turn off when you leave home and automatically turn on when
near by
◆ Edyn/ Greenbox/ Lono
o Smart irrigation systems
o Aware of their climate and include sensors
o Sprinklers only operate when the garden needs water
◆ Petcube
o Remote camera that enables the user to monitor their pet
o Able to talk and play with the laser pointer
◆ IFTTT – If This Then That
o Automates anything based on logic
o E.g. If the device/app does this, then the device/app must do that