"Web 2.0, mashups and social networking - what is it all about? "

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What is a mashup?

The term "mashup" originated in the music industry - it's music that is made up of other songs already released, usually by other artists. I often find myself saying to my daughters that the "new" song they think is so cool is actually the bass line from X artist circa 1974 and the electric guitar riffs from X song originally recorded in 1982. Pah! Modern music, don't get me started ;).  

Anyway, mashups in the web development world are actually very useful things ;). A mashup is usually a web-based application that combines content and functionality from a variety of sources using technologies including RSS and AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript And XML).

Mashups generally don't require a programming degree, hence the rapid uptake of the concept. A company will release an API (Application Programming Interface) which is the interface that allows for external requests to be made to whatever content the company is offering. Instead of it being just a rigid reproduction of information, there is a high degree of interactivity and for the developer/user to manipulate that data - hence its tie in with Web 2.0 concepts.

So, between the API implementation and the user/developer's additional work to manipulate the content for use within another application - that's a mashup; although some purists might argue more than one API needs to be used to qualify for that term. 

Mashups can be very simple or extraordinarily complex; for example, VirtualPlaces is a mashup of APIs provided by Amazon Web Services, Weather.com, Flickr, MSN Search, Feedmap and GeoURL.

If you'd like to start messing around in the world of mashups, there's some very good mashup tutorials here.

What are social networking applications?

There's a huge difference between social networking and social engineering - I've seen a few people get mixed up between the two.

Social engineering is a term related to hacking. It's the process by which a hacker or fraudster elicits information from people in order to get access to their/their company's systems. For example, a hacker may call an employee posing as a senior executive and ask for details relating to a certain client in order to access the profile and create havoc. 

Generally speaking, social networking services relating to the web are where a group of people launch a highly interactive service based on common interests between users and easy to use communications tools to detail and promote those interests to others.

They then invite their friends and colleagues to join and encourage them to also to invite people they know who have similar interests. Introductions are then made between these people that have been invited throughout the various tiers of the process. 

Via common connections these processes connect businesses to consumers, consumers to consumers and businesses to businesses whom otherwise may not have met. It also helps establish a network of credibility - "oh, X knows Y so Y must be ok". If Y is making a recommendation about a product or service, then that single recommendation may wield a great deal of purchasing influence.

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