My thoughts on Web 2.0

My thoughts on the TechWatch report of Web 2.0

What is Web 2.0? To me, it is part of my everyday life. After I get up, I listen to NPR news on the podcast from my Iphone. As I work part-time for one of our department’s projects --- Developing Chinese Language Teachers (DCLT), every time when I arrive at my office, I would turn on my computer and check our project’s Facebook and Blog. We have a monthly forum, so we set up our own Facebook and Blog as a platform for teachers to communicate and share ideas. After each forum, I always upload photos to the www.flickr.com, and video clips to www.Youtbube.com or our university’s www.Vimeo.com. Whether I’m working or studying, Google.com is the most helpful tool for me to search and collect information. In daily life, without having access to Google Maps, I would very likely get lost on the street in the city!

What are Web 2.0’s unique features? Compared to the traditional media like newspapers and TV, Web 2.0 is interactive and collaborative. We update information and share our photos and videos online to inform our friends what we are doing and thinking. At the same time, we know what our friends are up to. Millions of users collaboratively write and edit Wiki, creating a continuingly updated encyclopedia. A huge number of users use Youtube or Skype to learn a foreign language. We also upload and watch videos on Youtube to share and relax. Therefore, we social network, study, and have fun through Web 2.0. It is the interaction and collaboration that differentiate Web 2.0 from traditional media. It is hard to image what if we didn’t have Web 2.0 in this Information Age.