How Web 2.0 affects you

I am an admitted internet geek. I use it daily for all things imaginable. Banking, research, shopping, news, communicating, blogging, learning, sharing, etc.

I was very fortunate to be amongst the first wave of commercial internet users in 1995 when I began my studies at the University of Saskatchewan. In the case of the internet, universities were on the leading edge of the information revolution. Back then, the internet as we know it was still in its infancy and was prohibitively expensive to be a dedicated user (the high cost of both personal computers and internet service). However, most university students at that time had free and unlimited access. As a result, I've been lucky enough to have watched the internet grow up.

I poked around to find some reliable statistics on growth of the internet since that time. I had a tough time substantiating the stats, but this is what I found. In 1995, the planet had about 16 million internet users. Today there are about 1.4 billion users. The growth of the internet has occurred at a near exponential pace and has resulted in a relatively quick evolution in how we interact with the internet and what we use it for.

The initial phase of the internet's evolution is commonly known as 'Web 1.0'. This period lasted from 1994-2004. It was characterized by static pages that rarely changed and the lack of interaction through the web by users. It was a one way street with information going from the web to the users but not the other way. From my experience with the early days of the internet, I remember websites being very basic and one-dimensional. Pages did not add content regularly, so users would become bored and move on to something else. As well, Web 1.0 did not promote the idea of users having an online identity. This version of internet ideology lasted as long as it did mainly due to the wow factor of first time internet users (compared to no internet, even such a basic functioning internet was out of this world cool). Eventually, it became a stale format and things needed to change.

Along comes the new model that we see today. This is called 'Web 2.0'. Websites using this new model are including a social element where users generate and distribute content. They are dynamic websites that have the ability to be altered by users for the benefit of other users. The content has become user-driven, not proprietor-driven. Great examples of websites maximizing this concept are Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Flickr, Digg, Kijiji and some blog sites where user interaction is necessary for the sites to survive. These sites change every time you open them. In some cases, they change by the second.

With this explanation out of the way, how does this affect you?

The reason for this post is to help bring my blog into Web 2.0 land. While my blog is definitely not static, it doesn't get updated all of that often for a number of reasons. Sometimes, I do not have time or feel like it. More often, I just have nothing interesting to say. Since it gets updated somewhat regularly, it is definitely not of the Web 1.0 variety. However, it does not foster any interaction or collaboration with the people who use it, so it is not yet Web 2.0. I think it is solidly in the middle and I would like to change that.

I've added the ability for users to make comments on posts by clicking on the link at the bottom of each post. I've done this twice before and turned the functionality off shortly after as I was embarrassed to find that no one was interested in commenting on my blog. Now, I know you are out there checking the blog often from the statistics counter I have attached to the page. What I am asking is that when you read something you like or dislike, make a comment. If something I bring up incites a memory, reaction or opinion, make a comment. If you know of a cool website that relates to a post, make a comment. If you want to be a firefighter when you grow up, make a comment. If you have ideas for future posts, make a comment. It can even be anonymous if you wish, although I would love to see who the response is coming from.

Here is the stated contract, I will continue to do my best to keep the blog up, and you will repay my efforts by commenting on anything and everything.

I am leaving the comment function on regardless. I am pleading with you not to let my posts languish uncommented for all of the world to make fun of.