Web 2.0: the Renaissance of the World Wide Web.
In my classes I teach my students about the Renaissance Period. We discuss how that period was a rebirth of culture for Europeans. There were new and excited prospects in the field of Art, Science, Literature, Music, and Theatre. These art forms were no longer for royalty and those with money; culture was for the common person. We saw the works of William Shakespeare, Leonardo daVinci, Galileo Galilee, Sir Isaac Newton, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and Claudio Monteverdi. These prestigious names were not the only ones making great strides. There were also musicians playing on the streets for the enjoyment of the experience.
During this Renaissance of the World Wide Web, we are the musicians playing on the streets; those who blog and network for our own enjoyment. The web is no longer a place to just find information; we can now share documents and edit projects with no boarders or limitations. Technology is no longer for Stephen Wozniak, Steven Jobs, or Bill Gates, but for a grandson to show off the video of his baseball game to his grandmother a thousand miles away, a group of international business men to communicate without leaving the office, or a bride to view all the photos of her wedding from various guests.
A blogger on Web Republic states: “I believe guys like Kevin Rose, creator of Digg, and Mark Zuckerberg, creator of Facebook, are changing the world the same way the printing press brought about the renaissance after the dark ages; by putting the power of the free exchange of ideas and truth into the hands of everyday people, all over the world; and this time it’s FREE!!!” (zoso967, 2008)
There are many different Web 2.0 programs. “Social networking sites allow individuals with common interests, expertise or connections to build and communicate with their peers” (Raphael, 2008). Those looking to Social Networks would find LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace useful sites, as well as Ning sites and Collective X sites.
“Social bookmarking allows for the collection, management, and sharing of internet sites similar to a public version of a Internet Explorer or Firefoxes’ browser ‘favorites’ or ‘bookmarks.’ Social bookmarking sites typically allow visitors to tag their bookmarks or favorites as well as let others ‘follow’ or review an individual’s bookmarks. Additionally, some sites aggregate the popularity of sites based on how many individuals have bookmarked it. Example bookmark sites include the following: Del.icio.us, Ma.gnolia, and StumbleUpon.” (Raphael, 2008)
Digg is a Social News site; which allows viewers to view, vote, blog, and comment on current news events. YouTube is the most well known Web 2.0 site for video sharing and Flickr is the most well known for photos sharing.
After talking about the Renaissance Era all day, it is nice to know that I can be apart of something just as monumental. I hope you all find a new Web 2.0 site to use and explore!
References
Raphael, S. (2008). Web 2.0 Tools. Associapedia, Retrieved from http://www.asaecenter.org
zoso967, (2008). Will Web 2.0 usher in the new renaissance?. Tech Republic, Retrieved from http://techrepublic.com
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