What’s in a name? That which we call “Interactive web”, “Read-Write web” and some other names would serve a bit more for social media. Web 2.0 was a revolution in its own right. The window of opportunities and possibilities compounded after that, the present tech giants never looked back.

I really love tech forums, IRC channels, mailing lists and jabber chats. Especially the ones that are focused on STEM (in a broader sense), devoid of political opinions and subjective interpretations; just normal people discussing logical solutions to abiotic systems that could impact the masses. Well, pardon me for the exaggeration there, I call the transition period from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and the communication systems which stayed relevant regardless of time as Web 1.5.

Interaction was missing on Web 1.0. As the world stepped into Web 2.0, the social media took over exponentially. A new category was formed, habits changed rapidly and innovations never came to a halt. But, if you think about that on a deeper level, it all happened in a not so secret, maybe a bit socially boring underground called Web 1.5; a strong driving force impacting millions without consultation.

I’ll try not to include entrepreneurship forums in the category of Web 1.5. Because business is a different ball game, and requires a different level of psychological operations. Now let’s talk about why Web 1.5 is crucial, and it’ll persist for some time. There are two main things that I can think of. Number one—old habits die hard. Since the advent of the web, most of the interactions are done similarly to what’s happening today on Discord or Slack, old wine in a new bottle or simply call it ‘culture’. Number two–some eerie virtual human connection. Who would have thought that real-time text-based interaction could become a powerful medium of communication?

So, Web 1.5 is everywhere, but at the same time nowhere or the majority of them would never care. Betterment is a hoax? Not fully, we are what we are. Will a major shift happen in the Metaverse? Partially, because not all things can be expressed in texts, AV or the virtual world.