Web 2.0

Definition

The Web 2.0 is a catch-all concept that stands for the new technosocial developments which 1) atttempt to make the data independent from the person producing them, so that they can be used freely by others; 2) to make the web programmable, so that less and less software is used in the PC, but the intelligence is located in the network; 3) to socialise webpages through collective intelligence, social software, and networking.

Web 2.0 project are related to a certain type of Social Software Culture as well.

Characteristics

According to Dion Hinchcliffe in the Wall Street Journal

URL = http://web2.wsj2.com/the_state_of_web_20.htm

- The Web and all its connected devices as one global platform of reusable services and data

- Data consumption and remixing from all sources, particularly user generated data

- Continuous and seamless update of software and data, often very rapidly

- Rich and interactive user interfaces

- Architecture of participation that encourages user contribution

Political Critique of the Web 2.0 Wisdom of Crowds paradigm

Marc Fawzi, has a detailed argument, see the Unwisdom of Crowds.

Here, he compares the Web 2.0 characteristics to those of the hunter-gatherer mode, and concludes that it is therefore regressive:

"Web 2.0: Back to the Hunter-Gatherer Society

Observe: trusted individuals are once again the source of news in a society (i.e. bloggers)

Observe: word of mouth is once again how news spreads (i.e. viral marketing)

Observe: people once again hunt and gather in a crowd (e.g. digg)

Observe: people once again group things using words like small, big, happy, sad, funny, food rather than detailed hierarchical structures (i.e. tags)

Observe: impulsive production (minimal upfront planning vs. a lot of upfront planning) is back in style (e.g. Google “betas�?)

Observe: once again, sharing between people cannot be explained with the strict concept of economic reciprocity and is being explained by the egalitarian and optimistic notion that what is good for all is good for one (YouTube, del.icio.us, etc.)

These are all traits of a hunter-gatherer society, i.e. a pre-agricultural society.

The interesting thing is that human behavior and society had evolved for a reason. It may be that the Internet is simply freeing the hunter gatherer inside us, but I wonder if bringing out an ancient ingrained behavior will upset the equilibrium that was achieved through tens of thousands of years of behavioral adaptation. I realize that the last statement sounds like the plot for Jurassic Park (the “hunter gatherer�? in us as the suddenly reborn dinosaur ready to wreck havoc on modern-day socio-economic structures), but it’s a plausible suggestion given that the Web has already had a great disruptive effect on some industries, e.g. newspapers and soon the media hierarchy at large. Speaking of the media hierarchy, a hunter gatherer society is by definition incapable of supporting the concept of a formal, non-arbitrary social, economic or political hierarchy.

But is going back to a society with no formally defined social, economic and political hierarchies a good thing or a bad thing?

I content that it’s a bad thing and that Web 2.0 has got it all wrong by throwing away tens of thousands of years of adaptation and evolution of human society (on the behavioral and structural levels.)

This regression is being covered up by the false notion of the ‘wisdom of crowds.’" (http://evolvingtrends.wordpress.com/2006/07/07/web-25-from-hunter-gatherer-to-democratic-society/)

More Information

Here's a good overview of tools already, at http://www.shambles.net/web2/

Graphic Representations

1. By Tim O'Reilly

URL = http://www.siliconbeat.com/entries/meme-map.jpg

2. By Dion Hinchcliffe

URL = http://hinchcliffe.org/img/web2architecture.jpg