Seb Paquet
notes from Information Architecture Summit in Montreal, March
2005. This from Brett Lider:
“Defining the Future – The Web 2.0 article on Wikipedia was
clearly written by an engineer. Look at those acronyms!
Some components of Web 2.0. Social networks, desktop
information, browser history, tastes and preferences – getting them
documented and un-siloed, analog information.”
Quite right. Although I like the Wikipedia definition, Brett
makes a great point. Web 2.0 is just as much about the business
effects as the technical underpinnings.
Web 2.0 is also about the people aspects. Josh Petersen from 43 Things
puts it well:
“Part of what is happening on the web today, through
folksonomies, blogs, social networks, link sharing and photo
sharing are new ways for people to disclose their personalities in
public and new ways to develop a digital identity that might
augment who we are as people, offline.”
Don’t get me started on avatars!
🙂
NB: it seems the techy Wikipedia definition of Web 2.0 is under debate.
Boris Mann takes issue with the “implementation” section pointing
to companies – he says “let’s not have this page be a commercial
advertisement, but rather an evolving definition of Web 2.0.” Then
Aaron Swartz weighs in by
saying it’s “a vague article promoting a bunch of the author’s
favorite technologies and psuedo-tech-blabber.”
Both reasonable objections, although I’d like to see the author
of the original definition respond. Also I’d like to see a more
business-focused definition added, to complement the techy one. If
I get any free time in the coming weeks (unlikely!) I may even pen
it myself.
