I. What are they?
Internet has become so familiar. With chatting and email, people can contact others from far away immediately. Moreover, many people use internet for looking for specified information or reading news. There are also millions of web pages that contain many kinds of information. It’s normal for someone to have their own webpages. And web is still in its endless development to become better, more useful and friendlier. This essay will talk about an upgraded version of web - Web 2.0, what it is and what benefit it brings to the social networking.
1. What is Web 2.0:
Web 2.0 is second generation of web that allows users interact and share information with other users more widely and easily. In addition, new technologies like Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) or Flash can also be used to make the web be faster and more user-friendly. Moreover, Web 2.0 also contains online applications which users can work with directly on the internet and there’s no need for installing anything but internet and web browser.
These websites could represent Web 2.0:
a. The biggest multilingual free-content online dictionary: Wikipedia (wikipedia.org).
b. The most popular social networking site: MySpace (myspace.com).
c. The service with interact maps: Google Maps (maps.google.com)
Some of Web 2.0’s particular points:
a. Web 2.0 is always a beta version. That means it’s always changing. There’ll never be a full version or complete version of Web.
b. Web 2.0 allows users to customize and operate the web’s content as their will.
c. Web 2.0 is based on community intellect and the wisdom of crowds. Everyone can share their own information and knowledge with others.
(O'Reilly, 2005)
In conclusion, with Web 2.0, people are not just able to read information but they can also add their own information.
2. Blogs and wikis:
Blogs and wikis are two familiar contents of Web 2.0. They allow people to express themselves more easily and freely. People now can reach many people from many places they’ve never known before.
Blog is shortening of “web log”. It is like an online personal diary or journal. People normally use blogs to share their personal or professional opinions with others with the same interest. The readers are informed about new entry through RSS and can comment to show their own ideas. Blogs are connected to each other and can be found using search engines.
Why are people using blogs? First, most of them are free. Moreover, blog users can easily create and maintain blogs without knowing anything about something like HyperText Markup Language (HTML). Finally, it’s easy to connect to other people through blogs. That’s why the number of blogs has doubled every 5 months. (Vossen and Hagemann, 2007)
What’s about Wikis? Wikis are web pages using wiki software which enable anyone to create and edit the wikis’s content just using web browser. They are places where everyone can come to read, search for information and share their own. In other words, normal users now can be both reader and author. The word “wiki” is from the Hawaiian word “wikiwiki” which means “fast”. Wikipedia (wikipedia.org) is one of the best-known wikis, and there’s also WikiHow (wikihow.com), WikiMapia (wikimapia.org)…
Since everyone can add, edit, delete wikis’s contents maybe without registration, wikis’s accuracy is based on community intellect. It has been proven that wikis are not flawless. For example, Wikipedia has 3.86 mistakes per article on average. (Vossen and Hagemann, 2007)
Like blogs, most wikis are free to use; sometime people are not even required to register. It’s also simple to create or edit wiki’s articles. And wikis content links that connect to other pages or wikis.
II. What am I going to talk about?
Web 2.0’s got a very important role in building online social network. According to Zimmer (2008), data strongly flow from site to site, from people to people through Web 2.0. He also said “Everyone can and should use new Internet technologies to organize and share information, to interact within communities, and to express themselves”. As a matter of fact, people now can connect to others with the same interest simply and easily.
For example, 43 things (43things.com) is a social networking site that allows everyone to create accounts and then talk about their hopes and what they want to do. Other members can discuss and share their own opinions about how to achieve the goal.
Another popular social networking site is MySpace with more than 100.000.000 registered user (2006). MySpace provides an interactive network for people internationally where they can share profile, photos, music and videos.
Web 2.0 enables people to express themselves, connects them to others, and provides them online applications that they can use directly. But is it totally good? It is; even there are many opposing ideas about it.
According to Gorman (2007), “a world in which everyone is an expert is a world devoid of expertise”. Gorman also said that it’s not like a book; a web article can come to the community directly without any checking and editing, and even if it’s a bad one, many people will be able to read it before it goes off. And many people also prefer reading Wikipedia than a published book (Gorman, 2007). However, the readers have their own knowledge and experiments too. And the real editors are also using the internet. What are the differences between editing a book and correcting a web article? Why do e-books become so popular? Because people get used to reading from their computer or pocket devices which have internet connection, and it’s really a quick way to get the newest information. Finally, wikis are not perfect, their contents do have mistakes, but there’re professors from around the world who are able to correct those mistakes.
Gorman (2007) said “Do we entrust the education of children to self-selected ‘experts’ without any known authority or credentials”. For example, creators and editors of a Wikipedia’s entries are usually unknown; they can actually be anyone without any advance degrees. It’s even worse that they can claim about being professionals and who’ll know (Gorman, 2007). Actually, most of Wikipedia’s entries are summarized from multi sources by different creators and editors; they usually have citations and references so they can be verified if necessary. Moreover, Wikipedia doesn’t mean to be a replacement of the existing resource system, it’s an addition. One of Wikipedia’s important notes is:
“Most educators and professionals do not consider it appropriate to use tertiary sources such as encyclopedias as a sole source for any information — citing an encyclopedia as an important reference in footnotes or bibliographies may result in censure or a failing grade. Wikipedia articles should be used for background information, as a reference for correct terminology and search terms, and as a starting point for further research”.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Cite?page=none)
Wikipedia itself asks people not to cite from it but check the references. Its entries shouldn’t be use as references for academic purpose but they provide general and background knowledge.
Zimmer (2007) said that the increased flow of information across networks is a fear. People who want to search for information will be overwhelmed by the huge data on the internet (Mann, 2007). However, those huge online resources lead to a new way of learning. They get the newest and then let everyone see it. In reality, people are always thirsty for information; they want to know not just about their own major but also about how to have a better life, how to make their wives happy, how to fix the broken washing machine… If they plan to travel to Australia, they will want to know how that country is like, how the weather is, when the earliest plane will depart and which hotel is the cheapest… With Web 2.0, they can not only get the information they need, but also find other ideas along with it. It’s like learning the same thing but from many teachers with many different views. They can choose the most suitable one or even create their new way and share it with others. Moreover, the information can be updated endlessly by people from the whole world.
Another opposing idea is if everyone can be author, then who will be the audience? Who is going to read and listen and watch? (The Good, the Bad and the Web 2.0) It can be seen that with Web 2.0, people now can be both author and reader. If someone is a real author; it doesn’t mean he or she will never read another author’s books. In addition, Web 2.0 give people space to express themselves, to get along with other people with the same interest, not to become a big star. People do not only want to view art from famous artists, they also want to view common thing like how others live, how the world looks from other views.
III. So?
The importance of Web 2.0 in social networks is clear. It allows people to explore the world from many views just with their computers. It is people, the way people look at it is also the way they look at themselves. Web 2.0 is improving endlessly; it’s always changing to be better but there will never be a perfect Web 2.0. And like a coin, Web 2.0 has 2 faces: a bad one and a good one. It’s not good or bad entirely but it depends which face is being looked at.
References:
• ‘The Good, the Bad and the Web 2.0’, 2007, The Wall Street Journal
• Gorman, Michael, 12 June 2007, ‘Web 2.0: The Sleep of Reason’, viewed 4 July 2008,
• Mann, Thomas, 27 June 2007, ‘Brave New (Digital) World, Part II: Foolishness 2.0?’, viewed 4 July 2008,
• O'Reilly, Tim 2005 ‘What Is Web 2.0? Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software’, viewed 1 July 2008,
<>
• Vossen, Gottfried & Hagemann, Stephan 2007, Unleashing Web 2.0 from Concepts to Creativity, Morgan Kaufmann
• Zimmer, Michael 2008, ‘Preface: Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0’, First Monday, vol. 13, no. 3
Internet has become so familiar. With chatting and email, people can contact others from far away immediately. Moreover, many people use internet for looking for specified information or reading news. There are also millions of web pages that contain many kinds of information. It’s normal for someone to have their own webpages. And web is still in its endless development to become better, more useful and friendlier. This essay will talk about an upgraded version of web - Web 2.0, what it is and what benefit it brings to the social networking.
1. What is Web 2.0:
Web 2.0 is second generation of web that allows users interact and share information with other users more widely and easily. In addition, new technologies like Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) or Flash can also be used to make the web be faster and more user-friendly. Moreover, Web 2.0 also contains online applications which users can work with directly on the internet and there’s no need for installing anything but internet and web browser.
These websites could represent Web 2.0:
a. The biggest multilingual free-content online dictionary: Wikipedia (wikipedia.org).
b. The most popular social networking site: MySpace (myspace.com).
c. The service with interact maps: Google Maps (maps.google.com)
Some of Web 2.0’s particular points:
a. Web 2.0 is always a beta version. That means it’s always changing. There’ll never be a full version or complete version of Web.
b. Web 2.0 allows users to customize and operate the web’s content as their will.
c. Web 2.0 is based on community intellect and the wisdom of crowds. Everyone can share their own information and knowledge with others.
(O'Reilly, 2005)
In conclusion, with Web 2.0, people are not just able to read information but they can also add their own information.
2. Blogs and wikis:
Blogs and wikis are two familiar contents of Web 2.0. They allow people to express themselves more easily and freely. People now can reach many people from many places they’ve never known before.
Blog is shortening of “web log”. It is like an online personal diary or journal. People normally use blogs to share their personal or professional opinions with others with the same interest. The readers are informed about new entry through RSS and can comment to show their own ideas. Blogs are connected to each other and can be found using search engines.
Why are people using blogs? First, most of them are free. Moreover, blog users can easily create and maintain blogs without knowing anything about something like HyperText Markup Language (HTML). Finally, it’s easy to connect to other people through blogs. That’s why the number of blogs has doubled every 5 months. (Vossen and Hagemann, 2007)
What’s about Wikis? Wikis are web pages using wiki software which enable anyone to create and edit the wikis’s content just using web browser. They are places where everyone can come to read, search for information and share their own. In other words, normal users now can be both reader and author. The word “wiki” is from the Hawaiian word “wikiwiki” which means “fast”. Wikipedia (wikipedia.org) is one of the best-known wikis, and there’s also WikiHow (wikihow.com), WikiMapia (wikimapia.org)…
Since everyone can add, edit, delete wikis’s contents maybe without registration, wikis’s accuracy is based on community intellect. It has been proven that wikis are not flawless. For example, Wikipedia has 3.86 mistakes per article on average. (Vossen and Hagemann, 2007)
Like blogs, most wikis are free to use; sometime people are not even required to register. It’s also simple to create or edit wiki’s articles. And wikis content links that connect to other pages or wikis.
II. What am I going to talk about?
Web 2.0’s got a very important role in building online social network. According to Zimmer (2008), data strongly flow from site to site, from people to people through Web 2.0. He also said “Everyone can and should use new Internet technologies to organize and share information, to interact within communities, and to express themselves”. As a matter of fact, people now can connect to others with the same interest simply and easily.
For example, 43 things (43things.com) is a social networking site that allows everyone to create accounts and then talk about their hopes and what they want to do. Other members can discuss and share their own opinions about how to achieve the goal.
Another popular social networking site is MySpace with more than 100.000.000 registered user (2006). MySpace provides an interactive network for people internationally where they can share profile, photos, music and videos.
Web 2.0 enables people to express themselves, connects them to others, and provides them online applications that they can use directly. But is it totally good? It is; even there are many opposing ideas about it.
According to Gorman (2007), “a world in which everyone is an expert is a world devoid of expertise”. Gorman also said that it’s not like a book; a web article can come to the community directly without any checking and editing, and even if it’s a bad one, many people will be able to read it before it goes off. And many people also prefer reading Wikipedia than a published book (Gorman, 2007). However, the readers have their own knowledge and experiments too. And the real editors are also using the internet. What are the differences between editing a book and correcting a web article? Why do e-books become so popular? Because people get used to reading from their computer or pocket devices which have internet connection, and it’s really a quick way to get the newest information. Finally, wikis are not perfect, their contents do have mistakes, but there’re professors from around the world who are able to correct those mistakes.
Gorman (2007) said “Do we entrust the education of children to self-selected ‘experts’ without any known authority or credentials”. For example, creators and editors of a Wikipedia’s entries are usually unknown; they can actually be anyone without any advance degrees. It’s even worse that they can claim about being professionals and who’ll know (Gorman, 2007). Actually, most of Wikipedia’s entries are summarized from multi sources by different creators and editors; they usually have citations and references so they can be verified if necessary. Moreover, Wikipedia doesn’t mean to be a replacement of the existing resource system, it’s an addition. One of Wikipedia’s important notes is:
“Most educators and professionals do not consider it appropriate to use tertiary sources such as encyclopedias as a sole source for any information — citing an encyclopedia as an important reference in footnotes or bibliographies may result in censure or a failing grade. Wikipedia articles should be used for background information, as a reference for correct terminology and search terms, and as a starting point for further research”.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Cite?page=none)
Wikipedia itself asks people not to cite from it but check the references. Its entries shouldn’t be use as references for academic purpose but they provide general and background knowledge.
Zimmer (2007) said that the increased flow of information across networks is a fear. People who want to search for information will be overwhelmed by the huge data on the internet (Mann, 2007). However, those huge online resources lead to a new way of learning. They get the newest and then let everyone see it. In reality, people are always thirsty for information; they want to know not just about their own major but also about how to have a better life, how to make their wives happy, how to fix the broken washing machine… If they plan to travel to Australia, they will want to know how that country is like, how the weather is, when the earliest plane will depart and which hotel is the cheapest… With Web 2.0, they can not only get the information they need, but also find other ideas along with it. It’s like learning the same thing but from many teachers with many different views. They can choose the most suitable one or even create their new way and share it with others. Moreover, the information can be updated endlessly by people from the whole world.
Another opposing idea is if everyone can be author, then who will be the audience? Who is going to read and listen and watch? (The Good, the Bad and the Web 2.0) It can be seen that with Web 2.0, people now can be both author and reader. If someone is a real author; it doesn’t mean he or she will never read another author’s books. In addition, Web 2.0 give people space to express themselves, to get along with other people with the same interest, not to become a big star. People do not only want to view art from famous artists, they also want to view common thing like how others live, how the world looks from other views.
III. So?
The importance of Web 2.0 in social networks is clear. It allows people to explore the world from many views just with their computers. It is people, the way people look at it is also the way they look at themselves. Web 2.0 is improving endlessly; it’s always changing to be better but there will never be a perfect Web 2.0. And like a coin, Web 2.0 has 2 faces: a bad one and a good one. It’s not good or bad entirely but it depends which face is being looked at.
References:
• ‘The Good, the Bad and the Web 2.0’, 2007, The Wall Street Journal
• Gorman, Michael, 12 June 2007, ‘Web 2.0: The Sleep of Reason’, viewed 4 July 2008,
• Mann, Thomas, 27 June 2007, ‘Brave New (Digital) World, Part II: Foolishness 2.0?’, viewed 4 July 2008,
• O'Reilly, Tim 2005 ‘What Is Web 2.0? Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software’, viewed 1 July 2008,
<>
• Vossen, Gottfried & Hagemann, Stephan 2007, Unleashing Web 2.0 from Concepts to Creativity, Morgan Kaufmann
• Zimmer, Michael 2008, ‘Preface: Critical Perspectives on Web 2.0’, First Monday, vol. 13, no. 3
