Cobweb, interwebs, 2.0: What Web do you know?
Dear Tabitha,
You asked about Web 2.0...
Web 2.0 is a media theory. Sometimes it's called the Participatory Web or Social Web. While the 'what' is a bit abstract, the 'how' and 'who' is easy to answer: 2.0 describes the interactive way the web is used and co-created by almost every internet user these days.
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| Word cloud made on Word It Out. Created with content from the Web 2.0 entry on Wikipedia. |
I had definitely heard the term Web 2.0 before Thursday's lab but, apparently, it went in one ear and out the other. Only when I started the lab, I thought, Oh yeah. That makes sense. I’ve heard this before.
Regarding Web 2.0 in libraries:
I am unsure whether it's mainly a good thing or a bad thing. Some parts of Web 2.0's prevalence in libraries are great and some things aren’t. For example, there are lots more access points for users, it’s useful for marketing libraries, people often experience technology /learning divides, sometimes Web 2.0 integration can lead to unhelpful information clutter, etc. For now, I stand neutral, like Switzerland in WWII or like water on the ph scale.
Comfort at this point:
I am comfortable with some, but not nearly all, Web 2.0 technologies. I was born before the internet went mainstream in the mid-1990s and my childhood was not tech-heavy. I had, and choose to continue, a slower-paced exposure to the web and its many technologies—especially in my personal life. For example, I first got Facebook after a university gap year to keep in contact with distant friends. My first smartphone—and its compulsory use of apps and other social media accounts—came last year. However, I do find that the intimidation usually wears off. Many 2.0 sites, like Instagram or Pinterest, are fun. It seems very normal today to buy things off Amazon, watch videos on YouTube, or coordinate events through Facebook. Though I have no plans to record any personal podcasts or set up a Twitter account, I like to think I am more open to new technologies and committed to learning them when they are part of the academic/working spheres of my existence. Especially if they have immediate, practical usages and/or when the learning comes with an enthusiastic instructor and committed peer group.
Questions:
No, I don’t have any pressing questions. The lab overview of Web 2.0 was a good one.
