Web 2.0 And The Ajax ChallengeWeb 2.0 And The Ajax Challenge

Web 2.0, and in particular the Ajax technology that often embodies it, has the technology world abuzz. Ajax facilitates more interactive Web sites that deliver a better user experience. With Ajax, Web-based software makes data retrieval transparent to the user, so software behaves more like it's running locally.But as with many fledgling technologies, the potential for the hype to get way out in front of the reality -- and to lead to disturbing disconnects between promised and real capabilities -- is very big with Ajax specifically and with Web 2.0 broadly. Web 2.0 -- and how it can play into a Web site revamp -- is the subject of an in-depth analysis.

Since a key facet of Web 2.0 is community participation in Web sites, we'd like to get some details on your experiences with Ajax and with Web 2.0. How was the effort to develop Ajax-enabled apps? How did site visitors' experience compare and contrast with how it had been previously? Are there tangible results (i.e., better conversion rates or more sales) you can tie to the work with Ajax? Can you do the development in house or do you need to look to third parties to support any/all Ajax initiatives? Submit your experiences in the comments field below.

We'll analyze the feedback and profile what we consider the reader experiences that exhibit the best -- or the worst -- of Web 2.0.