Increase of information sharing through Web 2.0
Web 2.0
"Web 2.0" is a name that was coined by Darcy Dinnuci in 1999 but mostly attributed to Tim O'reilly (and the "Web 2.0 summit" in 2004) to describe the phase in Internet evolution in which web users have moved from merely viewing and extracting information from the net to creating, uploading and sharing content and information on the net. These new capabilities turned the internet into an efficient and popular platform that enables information sharing, collaboration and interaction between people from all across the globe. User generated content is exponentially increasing and spreads and communities, of all sorts and forms (including forums and social networks), facilitate discussions between peers with common interest.
Enablers
- Reach, speed, penetration and usability of the internet
- Increasing number of applications and participants
- Use of mobile devices and of mobility as a whole
Inhibitors
Government forces and policies (such as censorship)
Paradigms
The ability to create and share content has many implications not only on the use of the internet but on global economy, politics, society and life as a whole. Information exchanged by people from all across the world overcomes physical and regulatory barriers and hasten exposure, learning and interaction between humans.
- Political "walls" are therefore much harder, if at all possible, to impose (see for example the use of "Twitter" during the elections in Iran in 2009).
- Direct interaction and exchange of knowledge and opinions between consumers take the control from the hand of companies and allow consumers to discuss and share their opinions on them. As the crowds are outnumbering cooperates, it can be inferred that the quality of brands on the net is given to the hands of the consumers.
- Information travels in a speed never seen before and word of mouth can be described as "being on steroids".
- The realization of the "Long tail" changes the approach to the structure of the society (mostly but exclusively used by marketing disciplines)
Timing
2001 – The Dot.Com bubble bursts 2004 – The first "Web 2.0" summit 2009 – The use of Twitter during the elections in Iran