Learning about Web 2.0

From “Edge Perspective with John Hagel: What is Web 2.0” (quotations in black, my thoughts in blue)

Users. Rather than viewing creation as a highly specialized activity, this platform encourages users of all types to become involved in the creation process. The well-established boundaries between producers and consumers and professionals and amateurs are rapidly eroding.

My thought:
At this point, this seems to sum up the essence of Web 2.0 for me—everyone can be involved in the creation process. For a long-time lurker, this is both exciting and daunting.

Cumulative. Perhaps the most important aspect of this platform is that it encourages cumulative creation. This stems from the modularity that is a key design principle of Web 2.0 and it has profound implications for creative activity. It means that wherever and whenever creative activity occurs, it can be appropriated and built upon by others, further strengthening the bootstrapping process. Since what is being created is meant to be shared, it becomes less and less useful to think of the output as products and much more important to view the output as services that in turn support the creation of other services.

Because of the focus on creation, I am very taken with Ross Mayfield’s formulation that “the web is increasingly less about places and other nouns, but verbs

My thought: What an exciting article. In many ways he gets at the essence of of Web 2.0, without resorting to the “examples” he criticizes in other definitions. Although, I wouldn’t appreciate Hagel’s definitions without the examples cited in others’ definitions of 2.0!

Additional thoughts about thing 4 readings:
Very informative. I found myself making lists of words to look up on google or wikipedia – permalink, meme, aggregator—as I read.