Web 2.0 = Social Media?
So it turns out Web 2.0 is not just a term to describe the new trend in web graphics, but rather the tendency for new websites to become communities rather than simply displaying information. Our speaker, Wayne MacPhail, a marketing and communications specialist, taught us that the websites I’m used to making are being phased out, to be replaced with more community based applications, I guess its time I changed tactics.
Basically, we learned all about the new trends in technology and how they are based off of community input and collaboration rather than corporate production. Whether it is tagging on Flickr, sharing components, with the use of embed tags for example, or simply sharing your life with people through Twitter. People are able to respond and interact with these applications more easily as they feel part of a social community, hence the birth of social media.
He also discussed the use of RSS feeds. Personally, I have not used them but I can see their potential. They allow people to stay connected to your information through different forms of media, whether that is the actual website, and RSS reader or even a desktop application. It brings a great deal or portability to the content you introduce to the web.
Even the Wikipedia article I just linked is another example of social media. It is basically a user posted encyclopedia, if an article is lacking information, it can easily be added by anyone who has an internet connection, or edited for that matter. This also brings forth a concern about moderation, but with the whole world moderating the content, it is fairly reliable.
With the introduction of higher bandwidth connections, social media is able to reach new heights. Applications like Mogulus brings live video broadcasts to the hands of millions, and it’s all free. Social media really is a new way to describe the web, and as I can see, it already has a strong footing and will only grow from here.
Well…a few days back while scraping an information to one of my friends (on Orkut), it suddenly struck me that e-mails are almost becoming obsolete (except using it for the official purposes). Earlier when we had no other option than mailing to our friend and family, now it’s all about scraping !!! Yes…the social media has truly brought over a change in the user behavior.
The live chats and voice chats have bridged the gap between two users what ever of it was there. Now the users can avoid the pain of typing in there message as they can now directly talk to their friends on various voice chat applications like Skype and Gtalk.
The distance has reduced and so has the usability of the old modes of communication.
For more on social communities and social media visit
http://maketicklive.com/blogs/