web 2.0?

Why do we still care about web 2.0?
The term “web 2.0″ has become about as hackneyed as a Valley Girl’s “gag me with a spoon.” Everything from Youtube (which is actually an example of what web 2.0 is meant to describe) to a car’s company’s “build your own car” page (which is far from it) is being described as “web 2.0.” The term has come to mean very little but the idea behind it is still worth thinking about.Why is it important to think about a potentially over used idea? Because, though it’s been abused it’s still useful. Understanding the larger trends in this new shift to user-centered web experiences can help us understand our own use of the web as well as serve as reminders of the kinds of web experiences we should be offering our students, customers, friends.To best organize our thoughts about the concept, it’s useful to go back to Tim O’reilly’s original version of the term. O’reilly laid out four concepts to describe (not prescribe) aspects of new uses of the internet but I’m going to focus on the first two. To see more clink on the link.
1. The Web As Platform
Why this is important: In a few years we won’t remember what it was like to install new software with the exception of the latest fandangled browser. Our word processing, spread sheets, email and the like will all be online via a website. We’re already there in many ways thanks to Google’s docs, spreadsheets, and gmail. But I’m still writing this blog entry in Word 2007 which I installed off of a disk. Why is “the web as platform” a big deal? Access. Instead of investing in computers with gigs and gigs of hard drive space we can instead focus on a speedy connection and a bit of ram. More people will have access to the tools that we find common and we need not all have our own computer to be able to store documents and important information. In addition, being able to access your info from anywhere means no more lugging around laptops. Folks who can’t afford a computer won’t be so limited when they use a public access machine.
How this should change the way we think: Programs such as Photoshop are now online with cheap access. When we teach we can provide students access to software that would have been cost prohibitive in the past. Platforms like Second Life give us entrance to a world of human resources and concepts about 3D modeling (which we can also play with via Sketchup, another freebie from Google). More and more companies are learning that making their software available via a browser makes good business sense. We’re moving toward a model of openness that will benefit everyone (see #2 on this list), which makes us all potentially more productive, and builds great positive ethos for the companies which play along and let their guard down.
2. Harnessing Collective Intelligence
Why this is important: If you haven’t perused Pierre Levy’s book Collective Intelligence do it. The basic idea is that EVERYONE has knowledge that is valuable so SOMEONE. From the street cleaner to the CEO, we all have something to contribute. Wikipedia is the perfect example of the benefit of valuing collective knowledge. Everyone contributes and everyone benefits. Sites like Youtube and MySpace are close to this model in that they become “better” when more people contribute but there’s a line where too much is, well, too much and the site becomes burdensome to navigate. The real strength of harnessing the collective is that we all put in a little and get back a lot.
How this should change the way we think: In education we’ve got to start thinking about our students in a different way. They aren’t just receptacles to be filled with our knowledge. They’re knowledge makers and we can put them in the driver’s seat. They may be teenagers, returning adults, grandparents…whoever they are they have valuable experience and knowledge, unique perspectives and experiences. Making use of what they know and how they see the world can create a rich learning environment. Use a wiki, blog with comments, or any collaborative project that they design and execute and watch the ideas fly!
As businesses we should think of our customers the same way. They can teach us more about our product/service than we can teach them. As I’ve said before, a happy customer is a better marketing tool than any advertising campaign created by folks around a board room table. Smart companies allow their customers to become evangelists for their products.
In the end, the bottom line boils down to one concept: openness. Openness in business practices. Openness in classrooms. Openness in software and applications. The more we share, the more we benefit. Give away some power, some information and get so much more back.