Hitting my web 2.0 ‘on switch’!
I recently stumbled across an article in THE reporting on the lack of use of Web 2.0 tools amongst ‘Generation Y’ PhD students . The study, conducted by the British Library, shows that the students considered technological tools valuable to their research, but showed little use of them in reality.
As a mid 80’s spawn I fall around the centre age range of ‘generation Y’. I’ve had access to computers since the age of 3, the internet since 11, a mobile phone since 13 and I made my first website at 16. With this, communication tools such as MSNmessenger, Myspace and facebook have all been heavily used for keeping in touch with friends and colleagues. Had I taken part in the British Library study I too would have rated technological tools of high importance to my work. I would have also considered myself highly technologically fluent. However, when I sat down to think about it I realized that, much like the students in the study, I didn’t use many web 2.0 tools at all.
Up until recently Tweeting, blogging and RSS feeds were all alien to me. I was dragged kicking and screaming to the world of Twitter by my PI, who was and still is a massive fan: I now use it to keep up to date with the latest news in science, and across the world. I’m currently making my first blog after being inspired by my blogging work buddies, Steve, Neil and Duncan: maybe one day I’ll be able to post just as well as them. And RSS feeds: well, I’m trying.
It is interesting to note that all the people that have pulled me into the web 2.0 world would not be considered ‘generation Y’. If I’ve been surrounded by this technology all my life why have I failed to use it as effectively as those who have not? I think the answer is all to do with context. For the majority of my web using life these technologies were used for personal interaction, not work. I’d read blogs, but these were mostly about people’s private lives. I’d seen RSS feeds, but they were for blogs and websites, again, about people’s private lives. I’d seen Twitter, but to be frank was not interested in hearing in 140 characters whether someone was drinking tea or not (see ‘Understanding the value of life streaming – you’re doing it wrong’). These had never been introduced to me in a work context, therefore it had never occurred to me to use them as such.
Now I have been exposed to how useful these technologies are for communicating with other scientists all across the world it is hard not to want to get involved. So here is to web 2.0 and (hopefully) useful life/work/science-streaming for many years to come.
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Posted: November 13th, 2009 under General Banter.
Comments
Comment from admin - November 14, 2009 at 10:05 am
stress ye not, it’s back!!
Comment from Paul Jones - November 14, 2009 at 1:16 pm
The problem with web 2.0 is that it’s all about building up an online persona. People used things like twitter and facebook for personal stuff first, so now it’s difficult to bring work stuff into that without eroding that barrier between personal and professional that we like to build up over the years.
People don’t want their colleagues seeing those photos of them doing shots in Spain at 4am whilst wearing an over-sized sombrero and singing Spanish Flea to the poor bartender who has been called Pedro all night.
Comment from admin - November 14, 2009 at 11:44 pm
That’s an issue that gets brought up over and over again. (see http://tinyurl.com/62d3cz ). It’s all about the Frolleagues. I don’t find it so much a problem with Twitter, but Facebook is a minefield, especially because you don’t have control over what other people post on your wall. Not to mention your status/posts/comments being published on your Friends’ feed as soon as they comment on it.
I suppose we just have to remember that there is always the ‘decline’ and ‘block’ buttons, along with privacy settings. It’s not ideal, but it’s the best we have at the moment. I also like the ‘don’t post anything you wouldn’t show to your granny’ approach.
Comment from Steve - November 15, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Interesting post. I heard the “web 2.0″ buzz word a few years ago and largely ignored it. I found it hard to find a definition of “web 2.0″, everything from “interactive websites” to “coloured beveled edge buttons”. I think it was one of those venture capitalist funding words from the late 1990’s that got a lot of people in California excited about some more money they could make from the internet after the dot com bubble burst.
An interesting concept I heard a few years ago was the idea of your internet interface becoming pro-active to your requirements, rather than reactive to your searches. Stuff like google homepage, RSS readers and aggregators and the like are the future in my opinion. Personal AI “internet agents” that understand what’s of interest to you and can trawl the immense weight of information that is now deluging the internet, and delivering it to some personal information hub that is immediately assimilated by you. This I believe will be the realisation of “web 2.0″.
Either that or a direct neural jack lead into your cranium, then people will ask what happens with blue screen of death 2.0!
Comment from Paul Jones - November 13, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Your interesting post has gone walkies! Bring it back!