Member Article

Web 2.0 - A way of life

With Stephen Moretti, Software Development Manager at Enigma Interactive

I’ve been using the Internet since the early ‘90s. I remember when it was a novelty to use a browser, let alone actually display images in a web page. I’m on web version 6.5, so I’m a bit of an old grump when it comes to the whole “Web 2.0 thing”.

That said, I’m actually starting to see the ‘truth’ behind the Web 2.0 hype. It’s only recently started to rear its ugly head, but it’s out there.

For quite a while now teenagers have been using Myspace, Bebo, and Facebook to vent their emotions and hormones and these sites have launched several successful music careers.

More recently us grown-ups have been using these kinds of sites to keep in touch with friends and colleagues, reconnect with old acquaintances and network with other professionals in our fields of expertise.

Web logs, or blogs, may now number in the billions, but they are often the realm of the verbose, politicos, techies and the uninhibited. Even people accustomed to public speaking and with the ability to provide useful or insightful content can often find it difficult to maintain a steady stream to their publishing.

Twitter, pownce and the other micro-blogging sites have increased the ability for everyone and anyone to publish themselves. Anyone can write a blog entry if it’s only 140 characters long. Although, it has to be said, writing a post in 140 characters is an art form of its own. The myriad of clients and ancillary applications make Twitter very accessible to all kinds of user and all kinds of use.

Social networking sites, blogs and micro-blogs are now the daily staple of a lot of internet users, whether they realise it or not. Businesses are starting to see the benefit of using these applications to connect more directly and immediately with their customers and asking their IT and new media providers to add them to their web sites and applications.

Like it or not, Web 2.0 and social networking is a part of every day life and will continue to expand from the purely social to more commercial applications.

How many, and which, Web 2.0 applications do you use as a part of your personal and professional day?

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Supreme Ice Cream .