Web 2.0 in Plain English (Part 1)
The Internet seems to generate buzzwords almost as fast as it does carpal tunnel syndrome. One of the newer items is an evolving trend known as “Web 2.0.” Web 2.0 is when people use the web to work together in creating and sharing information. YouTube and Facebook are well-known examples.
So why is Web 2.0 such a big deal? Why should you care and what should you look out for? Read on:
⇒ Web 2.0 – What It Is
⇒ The Parts That Make Up Web 2.0
o Blogs
o Social Networking
⇒ What to Look Out For
⇒ Other Resources
⇒ E-mail this Information to A Friend
⇒ Other Topics in the Consumer Focus Archive
Web 2.0 – What It Is
Web 2.0 is people interacting with the web (and each other) to create sites and experiences that are meaningful to them. With Web 2.0 collaboration is key - we’re no longer exchanging information between just one person and one website. Now, we have millions of people working on the same websites (and with each other) simultaneously.
Web 2.0 sites give large groups of people a place to share their knowledge and enthusiasm by posting articles, reviews, comments, videos and more. They give you the ability to be creative, express yourself, and just have fun.
"Posting" something (web lingo for putting something to a website so others can see it) to the web allows you to:
⇒ share it with others
⇒ open yourself to comments from everyone viewing it
⇒ post questions and get answers
⇒ create an opportunity for discussion that can evolve and grow
Sometimes these collaborations can build great things, such as Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia with millions of articles, many updated minute by minute. Sometimes, the unrestricted sharing of information leads to things that aren’t so pretty, such as rampant cases of music piracy and copyright infringement.
But fear of the unknown shouldn’t prevent you from experiencing the destination websites in the 21st century. So now that we know what it is, let’s look at some Web 2.0 sites and see what they can offer you.
The Parts That Make Up Web 2.0
Here’s a small list of the different types of sites out there to tickle your electronic taste buds:
Blogs
Blog is short for "Web log," and it’s basically a very fancy combination of a journal, a scrapbook and a video library. With blogs, you put things online where the world can see and comment on it. Blogging is the simplest kind of online publishing available. And it’s almost always free.
Some uses for blogs are:
⇒ Finding people with similar interests, such as a love of kayaking, or nanotechnology, or beards.
⇒ Creating an online portfolio of your work, including artwork, photographs, music or writing.
⇒ Marketing your business or services, such as auto repairs or housekeeping.
⇒ Keeping a personal diary (password-protected so only you can read it)
⇒ Publishing a newsletter for your club or organization
If you want to create or view a blog, some places you can visit are:
⇒ Blogger
⇒ Blogs.com
⇒ Problogger
⇒ Typepad
⇒ Wordpress
Often it can take less than two minutes to create a blog. You simply find a name for your blog, and then think of a web address that isn’t taken – georgeleonardlovesguitar.com, for example. Your blog is now created, but it’s a blank canvas. Now all you have to do is fill up your space with whatever you want – your thoughts about politics, scores from your son’s Little League games, strategies for career advancement in the legal field, whatever.
You can browse through other people’s blogs by topic or location. Blogger and the other sites above have millions of blogs for you to peruse. Or you can look at some of the ubiquitous top ten lists out there, like:
⇒ BlogHer (Blogs for women)
⇒ NY Times Blogs
⇒ Henry Alford's Top 10 Blogs By or About Senior Citizens
⇒ GovGab (The U.S. government’s blog!)
Flex your fingers and dive into the blogosphere!
Social Networking
Social networking is similar to your social circle – you have friends, and your friends have friends. As you add friends to your circle, it creates a network of people who know each other, as well as avenues for people to meet other people.
Your social network allows you to keep up with your friend’s lives; whenever a person writes something on their site, everyone who is connected to that person or group gets an update. Some people love this sort of public information sharing. Others find the lack of privacy shocking. Think a good deal about this when you get started – once information is "out there," it’s almost impossible to take it back (more on this below).
Besides meeting new people and keeping in touch with friends and family, social networking also lets you:
⇒ Never miss a friend’s birthday again! People can post their birthdays on their sites, and you can sign up to get an email reminder so you never forget any of them.
⇒ Enter the books in your library into a book network, and connect yourself with people who read the same things. You can also see what they are reading that you might enjoy.
⇒ Find long lost friends, relatives and classmates.
⇒ Create or join a club or interest group.
⇒ Research other people (prospective hires, dates, etc.).
Some popular social networking sites that you can join:
⇒ Facebook the current most popular social networking site
⇒ MySpace - the former social networking champ, with more than 100 million accounts
⇒ LinkedIn - for business networking
To join a site, enter your name (Facebook asks for your real name, MySpace is more flexible) and as much information as you want, often with a photo. Now this profile of you "lives" online. You can now look for other people you know or for groups to join. Other people can also search for you as well. Now you’re up and running!
What to Look Out For
You heard the best. Now here’s the rest of the Web 2.0 picture:
Check Your Privacy Settings (And Your Friends’)
Remember: When you allow someone to access your social network, they can put anything they want there, even things that are embarrassing or damaging. A picture of you having fun at a party might be a liability if viewed by your employer. Check the privacy settings of your site and decide what things are viewable to the public and which are private.
Beware of the Photo Tag
Social networking sites allow you to attach a name to photos of people. This is called tagging. Tagging allows you to search through all your photos for all the ones with, say, your cousin Robert. However, having photo tags means that you are not the only one who can scour your images – other people can as well.
This means that if a friend takes a picture of you, and posts it, anyone can tag the photo with your name. If they tag you, you’ll receive a message letting you know. This tag now “lives” online and people can search by your name, and BOOM – that photo can pop up. You have little control over the content on other people’s sites, so keep photos under control by:
⇒ Setting your privacy settings so only your friends can view your photos.
⇒ Telling people to remove photos of you that you don’t like
⇒ Removing photo tags you don’t like by clicking on the link of your photo, and then click "Remove Tag"
⇒ Asking people not to tag you in their photos
⇒ Using the famous line: "Don’t put that photo on Facebook, OK?"
