"Fourth Season"

Mmm. Something smells good. What ‘ya got there, Library Lady?

I’m glad you asked! I’m serving up a delicious Fourth dollop of Web 2.0… Would you like some? I've got plenty!

No thanks. I don’t like fast food.

Fast food?

Yea, you know… Fast food. Like drive-in diners and carhops? Everywhere I go these days someone is offering me a taste of Web 2.0. But I’m not interested. It's just another teenybopper fad like TV dinners and poodle skirts, right?

Actually, no. In fact, I’m positive Web 2.0 will have more of an impact than Salisbury steak and sock hops.

Pfft… *shifty eyes*… How so? 

Take the Internet, for example. We're no longer working with plain old websites and search engines. A simple Google search for the words "Betty Crocker" will get you 8.9 million results! Web 2.0 is turning our world into one giant community and it's driving our workplace, entertainment, social activities, research, education... Virtually everything we do! You, your MP3 player, your laptop, cell phone, camera, BlackBerry, PC, TV, you're always online, connected to one another and the web.

Phooey on your Web 2.0! It's just a bunch of teenagers sharing pictures and bad grammar. Why do I need a Facebook page, anyway? And what am I going to do with a blog? I prefer doing things the old fashioned way. Paper and pencil and face-to-face interaction... With a human, not a computer!

 

And that’s okay. I'm not saying you need Web 2.0. But these tools are feeding our lives in some new and very exciting ways! To better illustrate my meaning, think of Web2.0 the same way Betty Crocker wanted us to think about food:

"Good eating brings happiness two ways. First, there is the joy and satisfaction of eating delicious, well-prepared food. Then there's the buoyant health, vitality, and joy of living that comes from a wise choice of foods. Both are important to good nutrition" (Crocker 1950).

Similarly, web 2.0 applications can bring happiness in two ways. First, there is the joy and satisfaction of learning a new tool--of actively pursuing new types of knowledge, exploration, and play. Then there's the "buoyant health and vitality" that comes from becoming informed--knowing what our choices are, and what tools are available to (ideally) make our lives a little easier. Both are important to proper lifelong learning.

These tools—Blogger, YouTube, tagging, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, RSS feeds, wikis—are influencing and changing the way we share and think about information. Individuals are finding new and increasingly effective ways of connecting through Web 2.0 technology--a wiki to plan the next Tupperware party; LibraryThing to catalogue cookbooks; Google Docs to digitize family recipes; and much, much more! There is a human side to this very technical transformation (Alexandra Krasne , "What is Web 2.0 Anyway?").

*looks skeptical*

Still don't believe me? 

*shrugs shoulders* 

Okay then, how about a real-time example to put some context into this discussion? Let's move away from the fluff of Betty Crocker and talk about something more serious. The earthquake in Haiti, for example? 

It doesn’t get much bigger than that… 

In January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude quake rocked Haiti taking down all land phone lines disabling the country spectacularly. As well as the pressing issue of not being able to speak to each other, it meant that Haitians were not able to speak to the rest of the world. Yet, while no one was coming in or coming out of the city, within minutes--seconds--the world was connected to the story through pictures, video, and first-person accounts. 

*blank stare* 

Ever wonder how? 

*shrugs shoulders* 

Because the news reporters turned to the crowd—the people on the ground, living the experience. 

But you said no one was coming in or out of the city...? 

I did, didn't I? But Twitter, for example, proved invaluable. Amidst a lot of well-wishers, there were a few people tweeting from Haiti with instant updates. A few 'Twitpics' uploaded by Blackberries and cell phones started to appear, so reporters followed the source--whose pictures were they? This led them to Facebook, where a young man was uploading photos from the streets. He was offering his services to those abroad trying to locate families and he soon became inundated with messages. Reporters began Google chatting with him and they quickly gained permission to broadcast his images.

A Google crisis response page almost immediately appeared--users could watch streamed news updates, contribute to a map mash-up to assist aid workers, view the current situation through Google Earth satellite images. Families trying to reach relatives could even make free Google Voice calls.

By the 13th, just three days after the devastation, 218 quake iReports appeared on CNN's website. Viewers were uploading their own pictures and video material. Major news broadcasters began citing Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and LinkdIn as legitimate news sources. CNN  iReporters did live interviews with survivors which in turn were viewed over 1.4 million times over the course of the next 24 hours--all online! Viewers can still follow CNN's Haiti web coverage, even today. 

Across the Web, the "Hope for Haiti" telethon attracted 1.9 million live broadcast streams. Between the live show and replays of the performances on MTV and other sites, "Hope for Haiti" attracted 5.8 million online streams including more than 150,000 cell phone streams. The "Hope for Haiti " iPhone app has been downloaded more than 100,000 times. And you can still donate to the Red Cross by texting a billable number from your cell phone. In less than two days, over $5 million was collected from these texts.

Facebook has 1500 status updates involving Haiti every minute. In some cases, the first long awaited message that a family member was okay comes in the form of a tweet. 'Help Haiti' remains one of the most popular subjects on Twitter. 

Wow. I hadn't really thought about Twitter that way before. I just assumed it was a bunch nonesense... I assumed it was a bunch of people with too much time on their hands.

Oh, it can be! Don't get me wrong. But there's potential to be so much more. Web 2.0 is truly changing the way we communicate. A few simple tools have the potential to impact us all in some way, shape, or form, whether we recognize it or not. All we need to do is to embrace the possibilities...

Bottom line: this is the way our society is choosing to connect; this is the way our society is choosing to share information. And this is why it’s important we get informed. 

Ohmygosh. This really IS big. Bigger than that seven layered chocolate cake I made yesterday! Web 2.0 is everywhere... There's so much more to it than popularity and trend and fad! There are humanitarian issues, political issues, copyright issues, privacy, ethical, and security issues! But there's just so much to learn. Where do I begin? How do I "get informed"? 

No problem! Don't panic. I know there's a lot, and we're going to work through it together. The best way to understand Web 2.0 is to experience it. In fact, you're experiencing it now just by reading this. And this isn't too scary, right? 

Well... No... I guess not... 

So all in favour of Web 2.0 training, raise your hand and say "Aye!" 

Aye! 

Motion passed! Excellent. Let's get started. And pass me a piece of that chocolate cake...

For more information about Betty Blogger: A recipe for Web 2.0 please proceed to Betty's Frequently Asked Questions and Betty's About pages.


Mercedes Bunz. "In Haiti earthquake coverage, social media gives victim a voice." PDA Digital Content Blog. Guardian.co.uk, 14 Jan. 2010. Web. 11 May 2010.