Hybridisation of the internet

By observing the trends within Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), one realises that it was inevitable that the internet was going to be mashed up, integrated, correlated, and connected on different levels as digital technology progresses. Web2.0 has made it possible to move the internet towards a new level of integration. Mashups are merely one aspect of this integrative process. Hip-Hop music lovers may be familiar with the term ‘mashup’ as it meant remixing two or more songs to make a hybrid song. Mashing up the internet works on the same principle. Web services are now allowing for the use of their own databases, content and applications on other sites by providing an application programming interface (API) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/API . This means that now, you can use for example, a Google map database or a film clip from Youtube on your own site and integrate or configure your own concept onto the application.

Mashups are no doubt born out of interest in marketing strategies to reach a wider audience. By mashing up the internet though APIs, a web service is able to promote its source, content and applications through other web services that mash their databases and applications. APIs can be provided by web services on a contractual agreement. However, currently there are free APIs on the internet that are mostly bound by the General Public License (GNU), http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html . So, Web2.0 provides a platform on which user compatibility between web interfaces becomes freely accessible to everyone.