In my own life, I remember how cool it was that people could use real songs as ringtones for their cell phone. I was blown away when I girl had me listen to Marvin Gaye croon “Sexual Healing,” right out of her flip phone.
Fast forward to today, phones cannot only play music, similarly to an mp3 player or iPod, but can also recognize songs and give an artist, song title, album information, etc. I am certain that smart phones today have far more capabilities than that, but these are just a few things at the top of my head.
What got me initially thinking about the constant evolution in technology was O’Reilly’s What is Web 2.0 was the chart that compared programs of web 1.0 and web 2.0. The author provided a list of examples that included web 1.0’s Britannica Online, personal websites, and mp3.com to Wikipedia, blogs, and Napster.
Napster?
The article was written in 2005, but it just goes to show that even from the time it was written, technologies and programs have changed drastically…do people even use Napster anymore?!
This article, along with the follow up, titled Web Squared: Web 2.0 Five Years On helped me with my understanding of Weinberger’s work in his book.
Not only does Weinberger discuss Internet innovations, but also the way that he discusses organization is entirely relevant to the previous articles. With the presence of new programs, sites, etc. on the Internet, users are able to organize and store information in different and various ways.
In chapter 5, Weinberger discusses the ways in which the Internet allows for the new ways of organizing, using a different approach than previously; a different approach than within Web 2.0. This can be thought of as a bottom-up organizational approach rather than a top-down one.
The Internet has changed as has usability. The more that Internet, via new technologies, continues to rapidly evolve, the more users will change their approach in organizing information and their overall use of the Internet.
It is so weird to hear about how big Napster was, let alone the name for me as well! Back in the day I didn't hear about it till the lawsuits and what not were going on to shut them down. I do remember the sites after them that came and wend, Morpheus, Kazza, and Limewire!
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy how quickly technology is changing. I too remember when it was the coolest thing to have a ringtone of a popular song on a flip phone none the less (which makes me think of the Razor which seemed like the Iphone of that time). So much has changed, and that just leaves more room for further advancements.
ReplyDeleteOne of the big connections you make here isn't quite accurate. You say, "In chapter 5, Weinberger discusses the ways in which the Internet allows for the new ways of organizing, using a different approach than previously; a different approach than within Web 2.0." Actually, they're not that different and in fact are more similar than not. BUT if you do see them as different I'd be curious to hear how and why? I guess the lesson here is just to make sure you back up your claims so that I can see how you came to your understanding. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like only yesterday that sites like Friendster ans Napster were the big thing. I really wished i had had a computer during those site's reign in order to take advantage of them. But like all things time marches on, and I'm glad to take full advantage of face book and flikr, and can't wait to see what comes next.
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