I feel a bit late to the party in addressing the topic of Web 2.0 (about six years late to be precise), but I will do so in this post in beginning my conquest of the 23 Things assignment for LIS 635. I won't attempt to define the term "Web 2.0" at this time, because, even if you don't know what it means, you more than likely have engaged in some form of Web 2.0-ing whether you knew it or not. This term basically refers to the ways in which users digest and interact with content on the internet - "interact with" being the key here. Whether it be posting an inane comment on a Yahoo! Sports article to "liking" a NY Times article that then posts to my Facebook account, the fact of interaction with content on the internet qualifies it as Web 2.0.
In most ways, this not-so-new wave of interaction on the web is harmless. Even though I use it very little, there is a tinge of gratification I feel (wait, which everyone feels) when I (they) get an email from Facebook stating "Friend X wrote something on your wall..." WOO-HOO! Yes! I am worthy! It's nice to be thought of, isn't it? Social networking through Facebook and other sites like it (I know MySpace is one, and I'm sure there are others, but I don't keep track) allows people who may be more of a casual acquaintance to keep in touch with you and be aware of what's going on in your life without having to send you an email or call (wait, TEXT) you on the phone. I may sound cynical when discussing this (part of me is, though I do concede the usefulness of FB), but there really isn't anything wrong with me hearing about tidbits ranging from one of my oldest friend's firstborn child's first day of school/word spoken/tooth sprouted, to what a classmate from high school whom I never talk to did over the weekend, on Facebook. If the old friend and I want to talk, we step it up and do just that. Anyway, off the soapbox. Many other ways of sharing information and interacting with it on the web are fun: photo sharing on Flickr, recommending a song to a friend on iTunes, posting a YouTube video of a friend's wedding reception; but there are also many that are not fun, or are downright tedious and annoying. I won't go into that here, but the aforementioned user comments on sites like Yahoo! Sports are just another showcase for so many people to spout off who really have nothing of value to say. It's a mild form of narcissism just to see your profile up on the screen, even if all you said was "Pujols is on the juice!"
You know the notion of how everything that is perceived to be a good thing can be abused and made into a bad thing? Well, that's the main facet of Web 2.0 that I find detrimental. Save those who are really careful and don't do this (probably the minority of folks), most everyone's online profile on one site tends to be the same or a variation upon the original identity on another, and another, and another, and so on...PLUS many of these accounts are (or at least, have the potential to be) intertwined. You know, you can have your Twitter update your Facebook...you can have Google Chrome remember your password...you can set up a universal password on your browser so that you never have to remember that your password for your Walgreen's account no longer has to have "underscore 14" at the end of your pet's name. Yes, this universality and intertwined nature make things easier, but there's a sinister aspect to all of it when you think about identity theft and the like. To a lesser degree, maybe you post something on your Twitter about someone you maybe don't care for, but then they happen to be a Facebook friend, and your Twitter updates your Facebook, and then that person sees your comment about them that they wouldn't have normally seen had you not interconnected the two accounts...and you see where I'm headed with this. I'm sure I'm not the first to have these reservations, but people just need to be smart about how they handle their online lives.
But, back to the good: the pursuit of knowledge in this way can really be rewarding. Say I'm reading a blog, and the author is discussing something I'm curious about and hyper-links to another online resource where I can learn more about the topic at hand - how is this bad? It's not. Though hyper-linking and following and liking and friending and all the other terms described with obscure and trendy verbiage can lead one down a bit of an information black hole, there is really something great about how reading one thing can lead to looking at another, and possibly discovering something you never knew before existed. And it's really great how users can come back to the original source and pay gratitude and share comments, or partake in polite debate and make corrections. This is where the issue of Library 2.0 comes into play. As I'm quite the novice at all things library at this time, I plan to explore the topic of Library 2.0 more in detail as I continue working on the 23 Things; however, I believe that the inevitable movement toward Library 2.0 results from all the good aspects of Web 2.0.
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