Our biggest fear has come to life...for some more than others. We all knew machines would eventually turn on us and mericlessly murder us all on both a virtual and physical level. Every journey begins with a single step. Today, that journey begins with the internet. In an article by Tim O'Reilly and John Battelle, Web Squared: Web 2.0 Five Years On, they discuss the largely growing of networks online that attract people looking to buy and sell, advertise and connect from all over the world to anywhere. However, it is no internet like the one it had began with. In the article, O'Reilly and Battelle go on to explain what Web 2.0 was capable of doing, stating: "It means building applications that literally get better the more people use them, harnessing network effects not only meant to acquire users, but also to learn from them and build on their contributions."
In theory, this means that the new platform connects everyone with everything that everybody has contributed giving everyone access to information, news, goods and services, and connection through social media networks, ultimately changing the way people personally interact with one another. Is this a bad thing? Its a hard question to answer on your own or atleast on my own without doing math. If Web 2.0 is about harnessing collective intelligence, then shouldn't we be running and deleting our pictures of last weeks house party before our parents see them on facebook or maybe Google? At the same time, I'm supposed to enter my financial information online so that I don't need to leave my desk to buy books at the store. Better yet, I have the power to "borrow" the online copy shared as a pdf that another student summitted online. Then I wouldn't even need to spend a cent of the $8.32 in my bank account.
The point is, Web 2.0 is neither good nor bad. It is the context by which we see it from and what we use it for that decides our place on both sides of the arguement. One thing is certain though, access to everything and everyone has never been easier. The article raises the point that the Web has moved from our home computers and into our pockets on our mobile phones. Today's smartphones have the ablity to do everything that a desktop computer can do except it does more and it litterally fits in our pocket. It doesn't occur to people that in a new age where people can walk around carrying the weight of global information in the palm of their hands.
In an article by Michael Zimmer, Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0, Zimmer points out the different perspectives that Web 2.0 can be looked at from. He raises the point that it is dangerous to put personal information online because it allows people to find and get a hold of you, but really, it is for that reason people put their information on there. People want to be found and to let people know they exist. They form an identity online that connects them with other virtual people. Without using a bunch of fancy terms and small difficult words, simply put, Zimmer explains that Web 2.0 is neither good nor bad but rather it depends entirely on your perspective and how we use the internet.
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