How is Web 2.0 different from Web 1.0?

Quite simply, Web 2.0 was the rise of the user. The development of Web 2.0 has significantly changed the way in which we use technology. Rather than technology dictating the extent to which it can be used, as in Web 1.0, the development of Web 2.0 allows the user to lead and drive technology, using it as “a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter” (Grossman 2006).

In 2006, Time named the general public, the Web 2.0 user, as its person of the year "for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game" (Grossman 2006). The article modestly captures the progress and advances that Web 2.0 has made compared to Web 1.0, the development of user-led technology and the difference it has made to society and the way we live.

The advances of Web 2.0 and user-led technology are also captured in Mark Pesce's (2007) theory that "the network is us mob, a mass of individuals connected together in ever-evolving configurations of purpose, with ever-expanding capabilities". Web 2.0 has given users the capacity to connect with almost anyone in the world, through a wide variety of networks, with a wide variety of activities, programs, etc. Further to this, Axel Bruns quotes Tim O'Reilly's definition of Web 2.0, stating,

"Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform. Chief among those rules is this: Build applications that harness network effects to get better the more people use them".

A post on Joe Drumgoole's Copacetic blog from May 29, 2006, gives a simple comparison of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, identifying the key differences and advances in technology between the two. They are:

Web 2.0 vs Web 1.0

• Web 1.0 was about reading, Web 2.0 is about writing
• Web 1.0 was about companies, Web 2.0 is about communities
• Web 1.0 was about client-server, Web 2.0 is about peer to peer
• Web 1.0 was about HTML, Web 2.0 is about XML
• Web 1.0 was about home pages, Web 2.0 is about blogs
• Web 1.0 was about portals, Web 2.0 is about RSS
• Web 1.0 was about taxonomy, Web 2.0 is about tags
• Web 1.0 was about wires, Web 2.0 is about wireless
• Web 1.0 was about owning, Web 2.0 is about sharing
• Web 1.0 was about IPOs, Web 2.0 is about trade sales
• Web 1.0 was about Netscape, Web 2.0 is about Google
• Web 1.0 was about web forms, Web 2.0 is about web applications
• Web 1.0 was about screen scraping, Web 2.0 is about APIs
• Web 1.0 was about dialup, Web 2.0 is about broadband
• Web 1.0 was about hardware costs, Web 2.0 is about bandwidth costs

Image source: http://www.sizlopedia.com/wp-content/uploads/web1_0-vs-web2_0.

Hoorah for Henry

As per usual I am up until the wee hours of the morning doing assignments.. I seem to work much better at this time.. and as per usual Henry Jenkins is making my life so much easier. So this is just a thank you to Henry Jenkins, for writing material on almost EVERYTHING relating to Creative Industries.. that man seems to pop up in every subject I do. Hoorah for Henry!

How do online communities organise themselves?

Why online communities?

There are a variety of suggested reasons as to why people choose to join online communities. One of the earliest definitions of online communities described them as "social aggregations that emerge from the Net when enough people carry on those public discussions [using the Internet] long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace" (Rheingold 1994, 5 cited in Flew 2004, 62).

Virtual communities have longevity, and can widely be used for functional reasons, such as knowledge and information sharing, promotion, research and business networking. Alternatively, many use online communities as they allow users to share emotional connections, giving them a sense of community (virtually), involvement, influence and acceptance.

Originally, interest in online communities was from social activist communities, setting up a network to inform and express opinions, and share these with others in an online networking environment (Flew 2004, 62-63). As technology has progressed, online communities have been formed by a variety of groups, whether it be to just keep in touch with friends or promote an upcoming product release. One common variable for online communities, however, is that they are created for people with a shared interest, thus creating a community. In regard to Education Queensland's A Learning Place Showcase site, David Potter from The Netride commented,

"The site is not the community. At the end of the day, it is up to the people in the community to build the community. The site should support community-building activities. It is a vehicle for people to travel to centrally located sources of information and to be able to add/edit/delete information whether it be text, images, video clips, panorama images or sound files. Communities are built by people for people with shared desired outcomes. The vehicles and tools aid in the processes of achieving the outcomes." (David Potter - The Netride).

Examples of online communities include:

• Facebook
• Flickr
• Diigo
• Twitter
• del.icio.us