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'Web 2.0 is all about harnessing
collective intelligence'. This statement, claimed by O'Reilly (2009), indicates that the production of the web has gradually been acknowledged and utilised by many individuals. The value of certain websites would be limited if
people did not know of their existence, or could not utilise them. A collective intelligence helps to create websites as people can become members of them and help to generate their popularity, for example, websites such as 'ebay' strive on their own usage by individuals, this is named, as highlighted by O'Reilly, as 'crowdsourcing'. With a
collective intelligence, these websites' value increases as more users make the
social network sites more entertaining and worthy of use. The social networks which I access are only present because the majority of my acquaintances have an account, if none of them did, there would be no reason for me to own a profile. With the access of these networks, there is the accumulation of information based on a user's search history and account information, generating a personal finger print on the web, suggesting an increase of intelligence amongst the internet. One has recently acknowledged this since gaining an understanding on an information shadow, for example, I accessed a H Samuels jewellery website, in which, the information on my sidebar of Facebook altered to jewellery advertisements. Popular searches become adjusted to meet the user's most popular requirements, indicated with the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' tab on Google which selects the most popular information chosen by other users.
The notion of Web 2.0 also looks at the integration of the web, now that it is available on numerous devices. These contain sensors and use GPS which enables the use of telling us where we are and recognising us, for example, when I've taken my ipod out it has tagged my location automatically on my 'Facebook' page. Linking to this, 'siri', an application on iphone 4, recognises it's user's voice and can respond to it. Additionally, there are phones which can correlate the owner's face unlocking the phone and connecting it to their 'Facebook' page. This links with a notion highlighted by Mike Kuniavsky, cited by O'Reilly, who suggests that objects create their own 'information shadows'. Individuals also have their own information shadows with pictures, videos, blogs, social network sites, etcetera. O'Reilly also suggests that the progression of the internet and technology, is almost like having 'super powers' as you can acknowledge surroundings without witnessing them, for example iphone enables you to 'find recent tweets near you'. This can be highlighted, as my phone contains 3G which enables me to keep updated with facebook whenever desired.
The previous paragraph leads me on to another aspect of web 2.0, which is 'folksonomy'. Folksonomy is the idea of tagging certain things together, or one thing, which correlates and can be observed by others. This is similar to the examples given above, where websites such as 'Facebook' and 'flickr' enables the suggestion of adding companions onto a picture, or one which relates to them. Furthermore, you can tag different URLs of certain groups and correlate it with a companion, for example, one which a friend tagged me in earlier, 'I love my house rabbit', as it relates to me and her personally. One believes that this is an essential highlight to Facebook as it has enabled me to maintain track of significant photos and videos which other's have uploaded. Photos which are streamed on 'Flickr' offers the ability to tag the surroundings that are present, such as scenery or places that had been visited. This can connect people together and remind them of relevant situations.
Another aspect of Web 2.0 is a notion named 'The Long Tail'. This looks at the distribution of goods on the internet. Goods in stores may lack the ability to have a high market share or growth, causing the lines to be deleted from the stores if the profit is limited. This leaves the niche goods left behind, however these can be distributed through the use of the internet. Anderson (2004) highlights how individuals predominantly believe that they have a mainstream taste due to marketing techniques, however, websites such as Amazon develops a diversity in decision making due to the individual recommendations which suggest appropriate links to a user's search history. As I am passionate about film watching, this seems appropriate to one as different recommendations are highlighted online, developing an insight on films that had not yet been distinguished, for example, my recent discovery of the low budget film 'Fish Tank' - a film which was not broadcasted in mainstream cinemas.
References
Anderson, C. (2004) The Long Tail in Wired 12:10 [WWW] Available from:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html
O'Reilly, T. & Battelle, J. (2009) Web Squared: Web 2.0 Five Years On
http://www.web2summit.com/web2009/public/schedule/detail/10194
The notion of Web 2.0 also looks at the integration of the web, now that it is available on numerous devices. These contain sensors and use GPS which enables the use of telling us where we are and recognising us, for example, when I've taken my ipod out it has tagged my location automatically on my 'Facebook' page. Linking to this, 'siri', an application on iphone 4, recognises it's user's voice and can respond to it. Additionally, there are phones which can correlate the owner's face unlocking the phone and connecting it to their 'Facebook' page. This links with a notion highlighted by Mike Kuniavsky, cited by O'Reilly, who suggests that objects create their own 'information shadows'. Individuals also have their own information shadows with pictures, videos, blogs, social network sites, etcetera. O'Reilly also suggests that the progression of the internet and technology, is almost like having 'super powers' as you can acknowledge surroundings without witnessing them, for example iphone enables you to 'find recent tweets near you'. This can be highlighted, as my phone contains 3G which enables me to keep updated with facebook whenever desired.
The previous paragraph leads me on to another aspect of web 2.0, which is 'folksonomy'. Folksonomy is the idea of tagging certain things together, or one thing, which correlates and can be observed by others. This is similar to the examples given above, where websites such as 'Facebook' and 'flickr' enables the suggestion of adding companions onto a picture, or one which relates to them. Furthermore, you can tag different URLs of certain groups and correlate it with a companion, for example, one which a friend tagged me in earlier, 'I love my house rabbit', as it relates to me and her personally. One believes that this is an essential highlight to Facebook as it has enabled me to maintain track of significant photos and videos which other's have uploaded. Photos which are streamed on 'Flickr' offers the ability to tag the surroundings that are present, such as scenery or places that had been visited. This can connect people together and remind them of relevant situations.
Another aspect of Web 2.0 is a notion named 'The Long Tail'. This looks at the distribution of goods on the internet. Goods in stores may lack the ability to have a high market share or growth, causing the lines to be deleted from the stores if the profit is limited. This leaves the niche goods left behind, however these can be distributed through the use of the internet. Anderson (2004) highlights how individuals predominantly believe that they have a mainstream taste due to marketing techniques, however, websites such as Amazon develops a diversity in decision making due to the individual recommendations which suggest appropriate links to a user's search history. As I am passionate about film watching, this seems appropriate to one as different recommendations are highlighted online, developing an insight on films that had not yet been distinguished, for example, my recent discovery of the low budget film 'Fish Tank' - a film which was not broadcasted in mainstream cinemas.
References
Anderson, C. (2004) The Long Tail in Wired 12:10 [WWW] Available from:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html
O'Reilly, T. & Battelle, J. (2009) Web Squared: Web 2.0 Five Years On
http://www.web2summit.com/web2009/public/schedule/detail/10194
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