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The nature of web applications is constantly changing. Development methods have advanced significantly from the old iframe remote scripting hacks to our current AJAX and mashups on demand (Rollyo.com, anyone?). Websites are no longer static collections of data, new technologies have allowed many sites to become rapidly developing information stores that encourage and facilitate user interaction and activity. These applications are designed to inspire the user to take an active role in the web application - for example, users editing the Wikipedia encyclopaedia.

These new technologies are offering many businesses an edge over their competitors. For example, take social bookmarking. The two key players in social bookmarking are Digg and Del.icio.us. For the first few months of their co-existence, both were more or less equal in popularity. In July 2005, Digg added the ability to vote for a story without a page refresh using AJAX. Suddenly, participating actively in Digg was much quicker and more convenient than Del.icio.us. Over the next year, Digg gradually overtook Del.icio.us in popularity and today is nearly twice as popular.

This trend of rich internet applications performing better than their traditional counterparts is increasingly common, and businesses will have to innovate to ensure ongoing success in business. I will be talking about this need for innovation, how businesses can keep up with the changing internet landscape and what the growth of RIAs means for business.

Stream: Web & Online Technologies

Paper: , , Business Success Online with Rich Internet Applications

Akash Mehta is a student with a passion for web technologies. A freelance web developer of sorts, he runs a network of websites targeted at webmasters and has worked on the odd commercial project. In his copious free time, he enjoys writing on web 2.0 technologies and creating mockup RIAs. With a keen interest in modern web technologies, he has written on AJAX and APIs for SitePoint.com and investigated innovative business models for success on the internet.