Web 2.0 and Me
Since this is the first post, as requested, I will start with an introduction of myself. My name is Anders and I am currently in my third year of the Scientific and Technical Communications program at the U. I am also pursuing a minor in Information Technology and have sort of focused my studies on the technological and “online� aspects of technical communications, which this class obviously fits right into. In my free time I like to read, play guitar, hang out with friends, and play video games. I also love to play and follow sports. I am a big fan of almost all professional Minnesota sports teams and of course the Gophers.
I first started using the internet when I was in about second or third grade, so around 1996. My dad bought a computer for the family that ran Windows 3.1 but many programs you had to run out of the DOS prompt. My dad is also a University of Minnesota employee so we got free dial up, 56k internet through the University of Minnesota. In those days I used the internet mainly for playing games and later on talking to friends via AOL Instant Messenger.
Now, I would consider myself fairly well versed in the nature of the internet and Web 2.0. I have used many Web 2.0 applications either in my free time or through various classes similar to this one such as Writ 3401. The Web 2.0 applications that I use most commonly are Wikipedia and social networking sites. Although Wikipedia isn’t considered a valid source for academic purposes it’s my go to site if I ever want to look something up for fun. I like it because of how up to date it is and for the most part it is extremely accurate. And as far as the social networking sites, the main one I use, as I’m sure many others in the class do, is Facebook. Although I don’t have many applications on my facebook one that I do have and use regularly, Living Social: Books, is a prime example of Web 2.0. It allows me to share what books I am reading and my reviews of the books I have read, and I can also see my friend’s books and reviews. You can also just search a book title and find reviews from anyone else on the internet using the application.
One idea that I found interesting in the reading was in the “What is Web 2.0?� article. He writes,� You can almost make the case that if a site or product relies on advertising to get the word out, it isn't Web 2.0� (O’Reilly, 2). I found this interesting because I had never thought of this before but it is extremely true. I have never seen an ad for Facebook but it is one of the most commonly visited sites on the internet. In fact it has become so popular that I have seen other companies use Facebook in their ads to cash in on its success. There is a Sprint commercial on TV where the man in the commercial states that their phone allows you to “update your Facebook status on the go.� Web 2.0 utilities rely on a steady and loyal userbase to become and remain successful and in my opinion that’s what defines Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is the users controlling the data and functionality of a site or online utility.