The Machine is Using Us

The Machine is Using Us

There is little doubt that the term "Web 2.0", introduced by Tim O'Reilly of the tech publishing empire, was created as an obvious ploy to recapture the hype of the original web.  But behind this tongue- in-cheek reference is a real shift in the way media on the web is produced and consumed.  Without this conscious shift we would not have the ubiquitous web technologies of today like YouTube, Facebook, and Blogging.  These are distinguished from Web 1.0 because of their two way interaction between producers and consumers.  There are actually multiple layers to this interaction.  Take Wordpress for example.  It revolutionized publishing because it allows people to instantly publish their thoughts and content to the Web, and tap into its viral nature.  Readers could now leave comments hypercharging the old "letters to the editor" function.  People feel free to speak their mind when they are simply a handle like superdude581.  Unfortunately the novelty of being able to speak has not worn off yet and the mind is still waiting for its turn.  The two way interaction does not stop at the publisher and the audience. With Wordpress the publisher also has a relationship with the designer / developer community, who put out "themes" where publishers can instantly alter the style of their blogs without changing the content they created or ever having to learn the design process themselves.  This is not just limited to themes but also extends to "plug-ins" making it possible to add features like e-commerce, Google maps, or any other web application, without knowing any code.  Finally there is a relationship between the developers and the creators of Wordpress who continuously release new source code and ask for community input in developing new features and technologies.  Contrast all this with Microsoft releasing a new Windows update back in the day.  Clearly they didn't consult anyone when developing their products.  Or on the web how the power to create websites rested in the hands of only the people who could code in the arcane and messy table-oriented HTML.  If you wanted to comment on a site you could email the webmaster...or sign the guestbook...yeah...ok...

Web technology has changed for the better, but it would be better if the innovating stopped at 2.0 for a while and the let the people catch up so we can start to learn how to think first, then talk next.