Welcome to Web 2.0

By Drew Millard

Some of you are reading this in the newspaper. Some of you are reading this online. If you are reading the newspaper, congratulations. You are clinging to the old world that I so dearly love, and kind of wish that I was a retrospective part of. That's one of the disadvantages of being young – I want to see what life was like when it was harder, but I literally can't comprehend the universe as any different than it is right now. I can't imagine what a world without shampoo must have been like; conversely, I cannot even begin to fathom what a world with a living Kurt Cobain, a celebrity who died no more than twelve years ago, was like. There is a part of me that wants to experience that old life, but unfortunately, that me is being jettisoned in the name of technology.

Now let us assume that you are reading this on the web, more specifically, on my Tryon Daily Bulletin blog. (for those of you who are not, but do have access to a computer with an internet connection, kindly use your internet browser to
navigate to http://tdbmodernage.blogspot.com, so that my point can be more effectively made). Congratulations. You are officially participating in Web 2.0.

What is Web 2.0, you ask? It is what it is, and "what it is" is simply the idea that the internet should be interactive rather than reactive. Pioneers in this field are websites such as www.myspace.com, the world's most popular social networking site (for those of you wondering what a social networking website is, I'll explain
in a couple paragraphs.); www.wikipedia.com (the world's largest online encyclopedia), and www.blogger.com, the website with which you are reading my words, assuming that you did what I asked and went to my blog.

Now, blogger.com is not just a website where content is posted by a select number of people.

Blogger.com is a web site where one can, through just a couple of easy steps, publish their writing, usually in the form of a journal. However, if someone were so inclined, they could literally publish anything, from pictures to videos to their thoughts on how Kafka would be interpreted had he been known to touch children.

The second website that I should discuss is Wikipedia. This web site is essentially an online encyclopedia, available to be read by anyone in the world, free of charge. The cool part is that in addition to being read by anyone in the world, it can also be edited by anyone in the world.

Now does this work? Yes. More importantly, how does this work-what guarantees that some hack with an opinion won't just fabricate information and pass it off as true?
The answer is this: Wikipedia is founded upon the belief that all people are inherently good, and that if somebody doesn't know what they're talking about in regards to a subject, then they won't post something about it. Of course, Wikipedia is not perfect. Those who are inclined to post on Wikipedia tend to be more interested in the history of Star Trek than, say, the life and times of Millard Fillmore.

And last but certainly not least, I shall discuss the beast. MySpace. If you are not familiar, www.myspace.com is a website that allows its users – usually teenagers – to create their own personal web page, and share information with the world about who they feel like they are.

Many, I think, consider their MySpace as an extension of their own physical bodies, and treat them as such, providing them with routine maintenance, giving them aesthetic changes, etc. In addition to making their own profiles, the site's users can comment upon other users' profiles.

Many times, I have seen the accretion of comments turn into an unspoken contest, a test in fake human interaction.

As of this writing, MySpace has approximately one hundred million people using it – that's not an exaggeration. MySpace is the biggest web site in the world (I think), and those who do use it need to remember that what they post there can be viewed by everyone in the entire universe, assuming the aliens now have access to the Internet.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go check my Myspace.