The Web 2.0 super subway; its stations and deviations

Following recent trips to Tokyo, I have come across this;

A wonderful map of how things are Now: i.e. Web 2.0 and geeky!

The map is rather cleverly based on the Japanese subway system, so it’s a little Japanese orientated, but there are still some really interesting synergies that are going on here in terms of how Web 2.0 platforms are being used and are now opening up and dependent on Web users.

The maps key sites reflect how data is now being aggregated into usable chunks of information and tagged for relevance with the emphasis upon speed, location and dissemination of searches. Represented as main stations, see how popular the likes of Flickr, Facebook, Yahoo! and Google are - need I go on!

Trust me this is really interesting! it shows how the main sites that were being used to ‘index’ the web en masse is now related to how Web 2.0 users are search for and consume information Before order of relevance was a specified, instead now tagging and item shares are orientating web searches and interactions.

Users can now describe and communicate information that is more relevant, up to date and ‘in vogue’ – taking into account changes, latest trends etc as and when they occur. Something that is more in line with how people really think and search.

To return to the Web 2.0 subway weight is given to those sites that are based on communities, interactions and file-shares. Here on Web 2.0 the user is Queen, as the Geek Chic reigns supreme. Information, items, even people become more searchable, taggable and relevant to what you are interested in. Kind of makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside doesn’t it.

Now where’s the magic in that?!

Harry potter fans; cue your midnight queuing and fervent reading over the weekend – But wait!, as here too lies what could be another unmasked script…

Rumours are that the latest (and ‘greatest’?!) from Ms Rowling has been leaked through the screen already.

Book bandits have scanned copies of the US edition onto various sites (and no I am not providing links that would only spoil things more!). Reports are that the quality is not up to much, but nothing that a brief play on Photoshop will not be able to reveal.

Potter’s popularity is highlighting one of the most recent and important debates on Web 2.0; that of ownership, copy right and the role of the promotion spoiler – hmm almost sounds like the title of another potential book...

When the ultimate in self-promo peculiarity Prince launched his CD ‘free’ with the Mail on (last) Sunday this seemed to leave a bad taste in my mouth (not to mention ringing in my ears). Some how it just seemed ‘wrong’ to follow such shameless self over-endorsement when the very essence of pleasure is that of coming across a book, or album all by yourself (yes despite the marketing ploys) and that sense of chase and uncovering of something new. I dislike things being thrust upon me in a shambolic fashion and hope those pilfering Potter ‘fans’ do not ruin it all for the rest of us. As for Prince he shall remained filed under ‘R’ in my CD collection, for Rubbish, Rescue me and (do not) Resurrect.

Neighbours everybody needs good neighbours

Following on from my previous blog post ‘Identity on parade: come ShowYourself!’, the latest from the gizmo guys on Facebook have created an innovative application See Your Neighbours (or ‘neighbors’ as it originates from that side of the pond!). See Your Neighbours automatically displays your nearest (and potentially dearest) physically located top 50 members on Facebook. Creator Nathan Blecharczyk of the Harvard network informs the Facebook group that ‘See Your Neighbours’ is designed to show;

‘… you a directory listing of other Facebook users in your vicinity sorted by distance. It facilitates meeting others in your apartment building or neighbourhood who you might not otherwise get to meet.’

This has synergies with the ‘new’ experience of community that is being created by social networking sites such as Facebook where it seems that the value of shared experiences has replaced previous ‘traditional’ community or neighbourhood forms that were based on locality.

As social networks become more about locating people See Your Neighbours could help to reframe the mobile and digitally connected society that contextualise current Web 2.0 interactions. The next version of social relations (a Web 3.0 ?) may well represent a return to physical context and resurgence of neighbourhoods that are based upon a shared sense of place and geographic residence.

I am yet to be convinced at how much there is a real demand for this kind of application. Privacy already remains a priority and source of contention on Facebook, not only between individuals, but now in relation to the admittance of 3rd party users that exercise the ‘right’, and are permitted, to access your personal information.

As purely a search application nothing shows up on your profile so you can enjoy seeing your neighbours before they see you. Users can also re-configure their own privacy settings to allow what other Facebook members are permitted to see once they have been located.

One note, I would recommend that Nathan change the group picture – currently a rather ‘groovy’ man that would not look out of place on the front of a ‘It’s nice to knit’ catalogue; that amount of polyester and cardigan related smirk does nothing to dissipate the potential uneasiness of discovering someone who could be living next-door.

It will be interesting to see how physical locality and place may be an essential element for a new set of forthcoming community relations, and of course those cup of tea possibilities. Of course with only 876 users at the time of writing community pickings do seem rather slim, especially if you are based in the UK. My nearest and dearest are a mere ‘community; pop over for a cup of sugar’ 60miles away. But it’s still friendlier than sending a ‘free’ gift or poking, but for the time being you may have a long way to walk…

Perhaps this is what is really meant by living in the utopic rural idyll...

Identity on parade: come ShowYourself!

Its been 24 hours in web 2.0 world and that’s a long time...

And *puff* Oh look another social networking site, another profile to create, another set of passwords, profile tags, user names etc to remember. YUK!

There is on Web 2.0 an ever-increasing array of user platforms, sites, forums etc. that seem to slowly erode away one’s digital identity as profiles attempt to span the social space stratosphere. It is more than easy to get lost, or worse never found ‘out there’. With this in mind creative genius’s have come up with a new piece of techno wizardgery in the guise of a widget called ShowYourself. Basically (after a quick play around) it combines all your profiles that span across the web into one rather fetching widget that you can place on your blog, website, even social network profile to show ‘where’ you may be and in what form. Handy, if a bit fiddly to begin with, suddenly though you can expose yourself on multiple fronts.

Which brings me rather nicely onto my next query, does one want to indicate the multiple possibilities of your identity and where you can be hunted down? One of the reasons that I have numerous accounts in different places is that they are designed for different networks; I would rather my more formal Linkedin contacts did not know, or try to seek out, my more personal Flickr account etc. The complexity here appears to lie with, not only possible identity profiling options, but rather an disquietness about identity management and possible over-disclosure of the self.

In terms of the new widget in its favour it does let one select exactly which profiles to display so you can custom-tailor your possible web exposure.

Straight from the horses mouth

Social networking and social networking sites (SNS) have become hugely popular and I have just recently come across a new one 'horsesmouth'.

Based in the UK unlike other SNSs horsesmouth is about the sharing of information rather than making connection with already 'known' friends.

The premise, built on the adage that knowledge is power, is to share your potential specialist skills with others without 'image' or popularity being at the fore of connections.

Horsesmouth states:

'we don't want people to find each other because of what they look like... on horsesmouth you'll have to let go of your looks and let the real you shine through'

From your profile you let others know your area(s) of 'expertise' and can advise on anything from the mundane - cookery tips, to more intellectual and philosophical ideas and even emotional relations.

This is an interesting take on the sharing of social resources and knowledge. As Web 2.0 is all about peer participation and user-generated content this seems a more natural way to combine social links, create and share with one another.

What we need to be careful about is how we interpret such information (with a large pinch of salt!). Sites such as Wikipedia seem to stand alone as a definitive guide and information resource and have created what Andrew Keen has labelled in his recent book the 'cult of the Amateur'. Perhaps the sharing and discussions created by sites such as horsesmouth can create new forums for debate and pools of knowledge... or are we being led up another information controlled path?..

BUT I think as geeks we are more savvy than to accept without question information uncovered online. Where Keen's concerns of an amateur culture have come to the fore, we should revel in the opportunities that we have to open debate and stimulate discussions!

A toast to the collabatory Web 2.0 and all from the horses mouth!

Big Fish; Small Net

The Catch is Small: Confusion within a shrinking net

Searches online, whether a name, place, historical event and so forth inevitably lead you to Wikipedia. Unnerving is its position as a seemingly ‘all-purpose’ and oracle like information source you have only to type ‘frog’, ‘giant’, ‘Tokyo’ into a search engine and up pops the same source.

I have recently criticised Andrew Keen for his dreary vision of Web 2.0 as permeated by the passive and mindless masses consuming and creating information in the same way, on the same pages and probably using the same keystrokes. The catch of new streams of information is something that should be celebrated, and any means that allows for people to become enthusiastic and share across the board knowledge is a wonderful thing. However, such fishing of information and insight knowledge is under threat from the ‘giants’ of information sourcing.

According to the Technology Guardian July 2007 Google now handles 65% of all website searches. Add to this the domination of information trawlers such as Wikipedia and we have a World Wide Web shrinkage problem. Information is in the hands of the Big Three: Google, Wikipedia and Yahoo! which direct an array of information queries in the same way. Rather than broadening the scope of information reach and depth these remain bound to dominate search results where the already Big fish get BIGGER.

I had hoped that Web 2.0 would bring forth a new optimisation and widen the net for information where increasingly nuanced readerships and viewerships would have a chance to be caught amongst the mega-catch of the Big Three. However, it appears that I must give Andrew Keen his dues as Web 2.0 seems to be following the inevitable pattern of growth that we have all become familiar with as part of a globalised economy. Homogeneity is dominating; the largest sites are securing their command and hook through expanded advertisement revenue (yes sadly even Facebook has succumbed to this ploy) as well as the buying up of smaller sites to continue to widen their lead.

The tripping point would be a switch from reliance on the big fish of information that may trigger new streams as users switch from one set to the other. Perhaps those consigned to the periphery should celebrate their uniqueness, as an unfished source, swimming against the tide of en-masse information.

The Keen-ness of Keen

Amateur HumDrum

Adam Webb writing in The Guardian 'The Vinyl Frontier' has found that the future of the record shop may not be as gloomy as we have been led to believe. Does this mean that the reign of the 'amateur' and user generated information is not as bleak as Andrew Keen has made out?...

Andrew Keen notes in his recent book 'The Cult of the Amateur' that we are entering a 'uesr generated' era, where tracts of 'reliable', trustworthy' and 'quality' information have been poorly substituted by online downloads (more often than not illegal), piracy, internet shopping and an array of user platforms that create a plethera of digital download options, searches and even creative 'masterpieces'.

In terms of music Keen laments the closure of his favourite record stores, and attacks the current cultural 'choice' provided by Web 2.0 that is dependent upon those anonymous reviews from itunes or Amazon.com - a 'death rattle' in the face of the co-bodily encounter and superior knowledge of the music clerk.

However, and contrary to Keen's bewail-ment, the popularity of music is stronger than it has ever been before. In part this is to do with Web 2.0; audiences can now access the 'creator' of their favourite music, find out much more detailed add-on information, subscribe to authored blogs etc. On MySpace if you are accepted as a 'friend' you can even become your favourite bands NBF (New Best Friend). But there is still demand for preserving the physicality of music appreciation. From buying cd's and enjoying the atmosphere of a music store to standing up to your neck in mud and getting into the music.

As Webb points out in his article, current trends are centred on the role of the independent retailor to 'pass the baton on' where they encourage new music and break new acts. Alongside this the back catalogue offers a new generation of music lovers a way to get excited about music that cannot be replicated on itunes. Here the embodied interaction between music dealer and audience enjoyment retain their place despite Keen's concerns to the contrary.

What Keen really overlooks, is how the audience still appreciates and seeks to get excited about music. His view is rather generalised toward a (lack of) culture audience, limited in their tastes and passive in their ability to feel inspired, act upon or recognise quality acts. Whilst Web 2.0 has given rise to file-sharing, illegal downloads, and so forth to the detriment of music retailors such as HMV and Tower Records, this audience want to get excited about new bands, share, remix etc with one another. Perhaps it is not the 'cult of the amateur' that is failing Web 2.0, but Web 2.0 that is failing the rise of a more confident audience.

Sources
Keen, A. (2007) The Cult of The Amateur
Webb, A. The Guardian 'The Vinyl Frontier' Friday July 6 2007