Over the last month, I've heard Web 3-D used a lot of different ways. I even heard a keynote speaker use the term Web 4.0 for RFID (Radio Frequency Identifcation). Aren't we already using microchips to identify our pets?
So for Web 3-D I think the best discussion of what it is and where it's going comes from the Intel Developer Forum. This is from last fall and speaker is Justin Rattner the CTO of Intel.
The intro is a little … but then it gives Web 3-D a decent discussion. Rattner doesn't believe that Web 3-D is fully developed but I love how goes over what we should be looking for in Web 3-D. He does think Web 3-D will become as ubiquitous as email.
Rattner presents the 5 key dimensions of Web 3-D (Virtual Worlds). For the full realization of Web 3-D all of these dimensions have to be optimized. Richness is the measure. How rich is________? Use a likert scale 1- 5.
1) Presentation
2) User Content ( User Created Content)
3) Persistence ( Do You Leave Something there that Persists)
4) Social Interaction
5) Physics ( How Realistic are the Physics or Are the Rules of Physics
Consistent to the Virtual World?)