Web 2.0 websites have several key features that set them apart from things that the web has traditionally been used for.
Some of these features arise because technology has moved on. Programmers have given us new tools that have simplified and reconfigured how we use the internet, supplying new internet tools.
Some of these features arise because of the way new kinds of website are designed. That is, Web 2.0 sites have been designed by developers to actively promote a new kind of use.
An important feature of Web 2.0 websites is the impact of the user. The huge number of people using these sites has impacted on the evolution of the web - but has also provided a huge social resource on the network. These new social networks are covered in the third section.
Finally, experience of all these opportunities may be shifting interest and experience away from the printed word as the main mode of communication and towards a wider range of literacies .
Each of these three areas is considered in turn in this "what is" section.