First Draft - Web 2.0

Hey guys,

Here is the first draft of the web 2.0 part of my dissertation, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Chloe

Web 2.0 - What is it?

Web 2.0 is the “participatory” or “read/write” Web, emphasizing tools and platforms that enable the user to talk back. (web 2.0...) buzzwords summerises web 2.0 into “user-generated content”. Therefore anything on the world wide web which has been in some way edited by users can be classed as being part of web 2.0. The use of technology is a major part of young people’s lives today and therefore should be considered when communicating with them. The literacy trust found that 82% of children own a mobile phone and 78% have access to a computer at home. The use of this technology gave young people a greater opportunity to write creatively and it was found that young people who used social networking sites and blogs enjoyed writing more and felt more confident. This therefore allowed them to write more prolifically in their school work. Bayam (in Jones 1998) stated that “the homogeneity of the net is further enhanced by the obvious, yet often ignored, fact that most of the world’s population have no internet access and likely never will.” Whilst Lockard also said that less than “one percent of the adult global population” have no internet access and therefore overall in the world is seen as irrelevant. Although this may be the case for many countries in the United Kingdom ofcom has shown that the majority of people have internet access. Before considering how web 2.0 may be useful, the different aspects of web 2.0 must be looked at in detail to see what each provides.

Social Networking

Social networking was differentiated from the internet by Shih (2009) by saying that it is “the World Wide Web of people” therefore social networking is not just a matter of connecting a computer to another computer but more about bringing people together. She also suggests that the next stage in the digital revolution will be “capturing and using information about how we as individuals are connected.” “In most cases users are allowed to customise their user profile pages by entering HTML into such areas as ‘About me’” (Mason and Rennie 2008) There are many forms of social networking for example Facebook and Myspace which include the majority of social networking aspects. Twitter, whilst be a social network, is slightly different from the rest, it allows you to post a 140 character update about what you are doing and send messages to other users. It does not include other aspects of social networking such as file sharing etc. However is a good way to keep up to date with other members. Applications are a major part of keeping people interested in social networks like Facebook, there is a wide range available from games to sharing media and interests with friends. Some applications are based just within the social network site however there are some that provide a service such as Pizza Hut’s application which allows you to order pizza delivery through Facebook. Therefore we can see that Facebook is not only used for connecting friends and family but also to connect bussiness’s and can be personalised to the users wishes. Whilst applications can be used through the social networking site itself, applications can also be used to use the social networking site on other sites, often appearing in the form of a widget. An example of this is the widget that allows you to embed your twitter feed onto another website. The literacy trust found that 56% of young people have a profile on social networking sites whilst ofcom found that 50% of young people have a profile on social networking sites. This means that by using social networking to contact players is a way of connecting to them quickly. Ofcom (A) showed that 87% of social network users visit the network at least once a week. Ofcom (A) sees social network users in different categories, Alpha Socialisers who use them to flirt, meet new people and for entertainment, Followers who use them to keep up to date with their peers, Faithfuls who use social networking for talking to friends who they have not seen in a while, Attention Seekers who crave comments from others on their profile and Functionals who use social networking sites to pursue hobbies etc. The safety of social network users is seen by Ofcom (A) as the reason why some people do not use social networking sites, this was later suggested that “while the potential risk is well documented, there appears to be a lack of research on the actual incidence of crimes such as identity theft as a result of the publication of personal details on these sites.” Lenhart and Madden found that the majority of teenagers were protecting themselves against online crimes, most by not filling out details that may allow people to find them. Some researchers find that the online communities within social networking sites can produce some problems in everyday “offline” life. Doheny-Farina (1996 in Baya 1998) stated “A community is bound by a place, which always includes complete social and environmental necessities. It is not something you can easily join. You can’t subscribe to a community as you subscribe to a discussion group on the net. It must be lived. It is entwined, contradictory, and involves all our senses.” If this point of view is correct then we should be worried about the ethics and morality offline (Robins 1995, in Baya 1998)

Wikis

“Wikis are collaborative, web-based sites for sharing text and other resources” (Mason and Rennie 2008) The information within a Wiki can be edited by any user and therefore allows a joint document to be created. As they are generally written by everyday people the language makes it easier for everyone to read and understand meaning that certain aspects of knowledge are not confined to just the well educated. Wikis are generally popular because they use the idea of open participation and communal evaluation (Bruns 2006) Wikipedia is probably the most well known of all wikis. It is a user edited encyclopaedia that anyone on the web can use for free. Whilst this is of great use to the general public, for more in depth research it is not always accurate. Wikipedia has evolved into such a large database that “Reading the full content of Wikipedia would take you over 2 years” (Ayers et. al., 2008) Free wikis can be accessed through the use of google docs or WetPaint however free services often do not allow you to save much data or manage the site in terms of security very well. Other services which usually involve a fee include sites like MediaWiki where administrators are able to regulate the site as much as they want and upload an unlimited number of files. (West and West, 2009)

Blogs

Weblogs or “blogs” can be defined as “a webpage with new entries placed at the top, updated frequently – sometimes severall times a day” (Rebecca Blood, 2002) Blogs are normally non commercial and can be used by anyone. Websites such as blogger.com and wordpress.com provide a service for free, allowing users to create and update a blog as often as they wish. Users “choose their own template and often spend considerable time adjusting the way their blogs look and work” (Jill Walker Rettburg, 2008) meaning that not only the content of the blog is important but also the layout and the aesthetics. One of the main reasons that blogging is so popular is because it is easy to produce and allows the user to display their thoughts or knowledge. (Jill Walker Rettburg, 2008). Blogs are generally written so that users can share their information with the world as though they expect followers. Generally only a few followers will be enough for the user to continue using this product. (Jill Walker Rettburg, 2008) Blogs do not have to be written by only one member but can be a group effort, Blogger allows you invite friends to blog with you on one page. Blood (2002) suggests that by regularly updating a blog you can build better writers, self awareness, critical thinkers, reputations and connected businesses, although there is no research to prove most of these facts, the national literacy trust has found that children who have blogs and update them regularly are generally better at literacy and enjoy writing more than their peers.

Podcasts and Vodcasts

Podcasts and Vodcasts are a form of blogging however rather than using text they use audio, video or both. Podcasts are only audio however vodcasts are video and generally audio. Podcasts are chosen as a form of blogging for business use as well as personal. Universities have begun to use podcasts and vodcasts and as there has been such a large market for now producing podcasts for lectures companies such as iTunes have a section especially for these files. They can be used to connect with customers and followers on a more personal basis. Podcasts can be downloaded onto a mobile device which makes listening to the podcast easier and can be replayed multiple times (Mason and Rennie 2008). As podcasts can be created by almost anyone, the content, especially of educational podcasts, may not be reliable and in much detail. (Mason and Rennie, 2008)

Second Life, Chat Rooms and instant messaging

Second Life is a form of virtual reality, along with other sites such as habbo hotel. Virtual Reality can be describes as “a computer generated 3D environment within which users can participate in real time and experience a sensation of being there” (Ferguson and McMenemy, 2007) Whilst these are only a basic form of virtual reality they can still be quite lifelike. Second Life is controlled by residents where users are able to explore, learn and do business. The Open University has a “world” of Second Life which allows you to XXX. “Many people see Second Life as taking web 2.0 into web 3.0 or even web 3.D!” (Mason and Rennie, 2008) Virtual reality can be used to train people for example pilots can use a simulator to practice safely. Second life and habbo hotel also come under the category of chat rooms. Chat rooms can be used to link people together with similar interests who have never met before. There is a large amount of concern over using chat rooms however as many people feel that some users, especially those who are younger, are at risk of meeting someone who may harm them XXX. Instant messaging is very similar to chat rooms in the way that it is possible to talk to other people who are online in real time, however it is more secure and private. Only people invited into a conversation may take part. MSN, Yahoo and AOL are among many instant messaging systems. The literacy trust found that 73.1% of young people regularly use instant messaging. “Predictions are that IM will surpass email as the primary online communications tool.” (Mason and Rennie, 2008) Online forums are another way of connecting with people. “A forum is essentially a website composed of a number of threads” (Mason and Rennie 2008). The threads all include a discussion between users on a specific topic.

File Sharing

File sharing has recently become very popular on the web. There are also many different forms of file sharing. It can be private or public and in some cases illegal. Sites such as youtube allow users to upload videos onto the network and make these available to the whole internet. As with Wikipedia, youtube can provide an educational purpose.
Most social networking sites now allow file sharing of some kind. Facebook for example will allow you to upload photos and videos to share with friends. Within these photos people can be “tagged” and so this enables them to collate all the photos or videos of themselves.

Google Wave and Google Buzz

Privacy and Security

What does each site offer?

As there are many different websites within web 2.0 all providing different services it is important to look at what these are and the advantages and disadvantages of each service. This can then be used to identify which of the services and website will allow training plans and training logs to be incorporated in a safe yet user friendly environment.