How Web 2.0 or professional communications technologies can advance your professional practice, learning and knowledge
Web 2.0 is the creative commons for users on the web. It has changed our workplace and the way we relate to each other enormously; and with platforms such as facebook, youtube and twitter we can search, find and add friends, music and other useful information that previously with web 1.0 sites, wouldn't be so accessible or easy to find. We become the creator and the user which means we have power and control over these platforms which is and has already created a massive boom of users in social networking sites.
These platforms are used in almost everyones life nowadays, one way or another and is such a big part of todays society. But are all these social networking sites doing our world the world of good? Web 2.0 is a highly debated concept in the sense that whilst these sites can allow us to gain access and information easily and freely, i think we should look at what it is doing to our future generation. Here are my views:
Pros
I myself am a bit of a social networking junkie! I have a Facebook profile, a Twitter account, a Yotube channel, Instagram and a blog. I love the fact that I can contact the people in my life so easily, I can share photos with my friends in seconds and can check up on how friends or other followers are feeling or what theyre doing at that moment. There has been many times when my phone has ran out of battery and i need to get in contact with my mum, so i pop into an apple store or a phone shop, click on Facebook and sent my mum a message and she has recieved it instantly!
The average user on Facebook has 130 friends. that's a lot of friends! Currently I have 1,245 friends on facebook... that's rediculous!! I DO NOT have 1,245 friends in real life at all! but people add me because i might be friends with someone they know or who they are interested in and so they add me to stay connected. I think its great that we can do that, we can find family who live on the other side of the world, add them in a single click and then that's it you're connected. As Feenberg & Bakardjiva (2004) quote 'Strangers and almost strangers come together as equals'.
Web 2.0 platforms have helped me in many various ways in a professional manner. using facebook as a target, i have in the past been able to send out invitations and information about productions i have been a part of to boost ticket sales. I am also a Zumba fitness instructor and have a zumba page via Facebook and this is where i can advertise myself and bring in customers in. I am also part of the Zumba instructors network page on facebook which is private and enables instructors to swap classes etc. This has been a huge help for me and my Zumba classes and has saved me lots of time and money.
Our world today is constantly changing- with our biggest followings such as fashion, music and the latest gadgets (phones, ipods..) all continually and frequently updating and getting better. This is also a familiar feature with web 2.0 sites and familiarity is a comfort to most people.
These platforms are all free, quick, easy and availible to the user 24/7 so ultimately user friendly, which is in turn building web 2.0.
Cons
On the other hand i feel these new, continually updating sites might be driving u forward to a good future with web 2.0 but then steering us away from the simplicities in life.
For example i'm a very creative person and have always loved to write stories, draw pictures and read books, but honestly i was a bit disappointed at first reaction when i found out our work for this course would be written online and posted on a blog. Maybe i'm a bit old fashioned and not used to writing anymore since i have been out of school but i have always enjoyed feeling my hard work in my hands in a hard copy. It always gave me such satisfaction after working so hard!
I work in a school from monday to friday as a TA in a year 4 class and the children practice their handwriting everyday. but now i'm starting to think what for? whats the point when they're not going to use it? and I love handwriting practise!
We have Kindles instead of books, we send invitations to parties out on Facebook- not by hand, we get e-cards online for our birthdays rather than through the post and it feels like personal sentiment is forgotten.
The most worrying factor for me is how bad it is going to affect our next generation. Kids would rather stay in and play games online than go outside and play in the park. This to me is a worry and i can see the difference at work with the children now to what i can remember from when i was at school myself. I used to be eager to get to the park after school if the weather was nice, but listening to the kids at school they are eager to get home and play the new Fifa game on their playstation. not only could this affect their healh but also their social skills which i think a massively important for their future. I know times have changed and we do live in a bubble wrapped world now and we do have to be careful, but it's the parents who should be encouraging their children to do more socially and i think they should be made aware of the long term damage it could have.
My boyfriend says: 'When we are older, we will all remember the friends we've made, not the TV shows we've watched.' which i think is ultimately true.
O'Reilly attempts to show what 2.0 means. He starts off giving of general views of other people towards 2.0 saying that some think the web is 'overhyped' whilst others say it is a 'technical revolution'. He goes on to show the benefits of 2.0 compared to 1.0 sites and from first reading his article it opened my eyes to how many doors web 2.0 actually opens for me and us as users.
Ulrich et al speaks of the 'perpetual beta' which means web 2.0 has the functions to develop and replace data, which I mentioned earlier.
I read through a few of these tasks on other peoples blogs and I agree with Melanie browns comment that 'Technologies in learning and communication should be completely cast aside. We must not let the younger generations of today get completely lost in Cyberspace.'
To conclude, even though networking sites will continue to develop and grow, i hope that our world will not forget the beauty of the simplicity of life.
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