Maybe I’ve been around this block before, but all the hype about Web 2.0 & social networking seems like the media needing a new thing. Like celebrity gossip, self-help books and pop stars, there is always somebody yelling ‘THE NEXT BIG THING!’
Too often, it’s just like the last thing.
1) Web 2.0 is really just an extension of what the web has been since the Well & usenet. Not new.
2) Sure it’s fun to wander through MySpace, Flikr, del.icio.us. New discoveries. Oddities. Maybe finding friends & connections. Fun to get a response to your brave stuff. And then you notice that you’re wandering for wandering’s sake. It’s about as interesting as channel surfing.
3) You’re a grown-up, and you’ve got deadlines, bills, a dog to walk & people that need you.
Social networking will continue to evolve & be fun & add new wrinkles to what humans do online & off. However, more and more commentators are seeing through the hype.
Social networking goes out with a whimper, Atlantic Monthly
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200704/social-networking
The Two Edged Sword of Web 2.0, Web Worker Daily
http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/03/29/the-two-edged-sword-of-web-20/
