LitC Part 2: Why Web 2.0?

A few weeks ago I announced and introduced a series I’m starting on the blog called “Life in the Cloud.” This series talks about how one uses Web 2.0 and cloud computing in his or her daily life, whether at home, work, or school. This weeks installment will (hopefully) answer the question “Why Web 2.0?” and inspire a philosophical discussion about Web 2.0.

Honestly, I do not know why Web 2.0 is happening – these days, technology (particularly the Internet) moves very quickly and people are not able to think about the changes that are occuring. Web 2.0 and cloud computing is about making the Internet and the Web more social. Ideally, Web 2.0 enhances relationships, discussions, and communities, but does not replace them. Web 2.0 is “happening” because the Internet is capable of it – most of the programming languages people design Web 2.0 services in were around twenty years ago. This is only the beginning – there is still a long way to go, but users and developers are finally taking advantage of the full potential of the Internet.

Global Network

Fifteen years ago, the Net was not being fully exploited. Because the Internet is so decentralized, it is a perfect mode of communication; if one user, section, or part goes offline, the entire network is not affected. Web 2.0 and cloud computing is the “true destiny” of the Internet – it was meant for this type of community building. In the past, technological revelations in the fields of communication have enriched only one-to-one communication or mass one-way communication. The Internet enables people to create global communities but still remain attached to themselves, their families, and hometowns.

Desktop Computer

Web 2.0 decereases dependence on desktop computers. Cloud computing makes technology more mobile, portable, and ultimately, more human. In its essence, Web 2.0 is the experession, using the Internet, of a basic human need to talk and to create. One could say cloud computing is happening because up until now, technology, including the Internet, has been very mechanic, systematic, and uncreative – humans have had to adapt to technology instead of technology adapting to us. The Internet makes mobile computing on devices like the iPhone and Google’s Android more useful and successful – there is no longer a need to sync a device with a desktop or laptop computer. Because of the Internet, mobile devices are actually mobile devices.

Democracy

Web 2.0 also represents a shift of power on the Internet and has enabled, or reenabled, I should say, old and new ways of personal expression that have been lost in todays world. Cloud computing is democracy on the Internet – no one is really in control, but the Internet doesn’t just run on its own, either. The Internet is a managed decentralized network, if that makes sense.

Web 2.0 Services. Image Source.

Though this barely breaks the ice on the question “Why Web 2.0?,” I hope this post provides a good philosophical basis for some of the questions surrounding Web 2.0, cloud computing, and the Internet in general. I will answer more of these questions in Part 4, where I will address what is missing from Web 2.0. Check out the Introduction for more info about the series.

As always, please email me, Twitter me, or otherwise-me your feedback.

Tagged as: cloud computing, Internet, philosophy, web2.0