edwin aoki @ fowa feb 07

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The Changing Face of Online Communities and Communications Edwin Aoki Chief Architect, AOL Future of Web Applications Conference Feb. 20, 2007

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Edwin Aoki of AOL speaking at Future of Web Apps in London, February 2007.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

The Changing Face of OnlineCommunities and Communications

Edwin AokiChief Architect, AOL

Future of WebApplicationsConference

Feb. 20, 2007

Page 2: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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In theBeginning…

Page 3: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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Where it all began

From itsbeginnings,

community hasbeen a key

promise of theWeb

Courtesy: CERN and the Internet Archive

Page 4: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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Agenda

• Current state of web applications for online communities andcommunications

• Near-term trends• Thoughts and implications

Page 5: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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Webmail is the leading driver of page views

Source: Portal property Rankings and Market Share by VerticalHitwise (www.hitwise.com), May 2006

Email Svcs (1089

sites)

9.32%

Search Engines

(2322 sites)

7.32%

News/Media

(6080 sites)

3.40%

Business and

Finance

(1030 sites)

0.57%

All Others

79.38%

Page 6: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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Chat and Instant Messaging take to the web

Web based IM and chat tools allow users to stay connectedwithout the need for a dedicated client, giving up very littleof the experience, thanks to modern web UI technologies.

Page 7: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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“Obvious” community applications on the Web

Blogging

Message Boards

Social Networking

Page 8: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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And some less obvious ones…

Reference

Auctions

Commerce

Page 9: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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Predecessor of the modern mashup?

Courtesy: WebRing/GeoCities/Yahoo! and the Internet Archive

Page 10: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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IndustryTrends

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Disaggregation and syndication

•Users seek out the experiences and communitiesthey’re interested in

•Allows for highly tailored and focused experiences– Fulfilling the promise of the “Long Tail”

•Content and service providers don’t control thecontext in which their applications are used or seen

•Can be a boon for application providers, but also achallenge– YouTube, Photobucket, Flickr

Page 12: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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Web apps, too will become syndicated

• For content, it’s “embedding”, for applications “mashups”• Community and Communication Tools are key candidates• Embedding community and/or

communications tools increasesengagement and drives value tocontent providers– IM (shown)– Message boards– Ratings and profiling

• These interactions will increasinglytake place in situ, rather than indedicated “destinations”

Page 13: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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Community goes mobile

• Content and Community applications will follow users towhere they work, play, and live

Page 14: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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Sometimes Second Life comes first

• The world between online and virtual blurs rapidly• “Real world” brands are trying to establish an identity in virtual worlds

– BBC, Toyota, Vodafone, AOL, just to name a few

Page 15: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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Our SharedResponsibility

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“With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”

• As technologists, we must make sure that the tools and services webuild can be used safely and effectively

• Most users aren’t aware and/or don’t care about the implications ofbeing online– Security/Privacy– Spam– Social Effects

• Decentralization is particularly disruptive for the traditional “trustmodel” of applications– “Who to trust” is a complex question when services are provided by multiple

providers– Distributed identity management systems such as OpenID complicate this

even further

Quote: Spiderman, 2002

Page 17: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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Bridging the “Digital Divide”

•Applications we build must be accessible to all– The visually, audibly, or motion impaired– Older generations– Different socioeconomic backgrounds– People of developing and emerging nations

•Everyone benefits when online communitiesrepresent a wide range of backgrounds, cultures,and interests

Page 18: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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The Future is in the Balance

• Power and Ease of Use• Social Benefits and Commercial Interests• Online and Offline Interactions

Page 19: Edwin Aoki @ Fowa Feb 07

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Thank You

Edwin [email protected]

To learn more about the AOL technologies referenced in thispresentation, please visit dev.aol.com