Web 2.0

         Web 2.0 is a trend in web design and development that aims to facilitate collaboration, creativity and sharing between users. According to Tim O’Reilly, Web 2.0 is associated with a string of websites and user applications much different from the initial software developed in the 1980s. Web 2.0 can be differentiated from Web 1.0, the original web platform, because websites and search engines now foster collaboration and transitioned away from websites that acted as solitary information centers.
       It can be characterized by websites similar to Wikipedia, eBay and BitTorrent and applications such as blogging, tagging and group participation. Ryan Singel wrote in Wired magazine that Web 2.0 is a constellation of web applications that rival the desktop applications of earlier computer software and the rise in blog publishing and self-service advertising. Web 2.0 technologies, wrote Andrew Keen in the Weekly Standard, personalizes culture to reflect us rather than the world around us.
       However, there is still much debate among web users what the term Web 2.0 entails. Some users consider it a marketing buzzword while other experts believe that Web 2.0 is the second generation to the original World Wide Web.
       In my perspective, Web 2.0 websites allow users to interact and comment with one another. They can do more than just retrieve information. Web 2.0 has enabled many users to comment and discuss issues across the web, participate in social networking sites and easily compare prices and products at the touch of a button. I think that Web 2.0 is not a new idea in itself; instead it is an extension of Web 1.0 and advancement in computer software. Web 2.0 has extended on earlier ideas and aspects of the Internet to facilitate larger communication among users.
        In terms of the news media, I think Web 2.0 threatens traditional journalism outlets such as newspapers with the rise of citizen journalism and blogging. People may choose to ignore the world around them as they use the Internet to narrowly tailor their interests. At the same time, I believe Web 2.0 may also enhance journalism and traditional media outlets as they are forced to find new methods, perhaps through multimedia, to compete.