Web 2.0 is a concept of the World Wide Web as a platform created by the emergence of new online applications and business models, some of which we use at thestar.com. Think of Google's Adsense, Wikipedia and blogs as examples of Web 2.0 applications.
One of the sites of interest is del.icio.us, which at first glance can be a little perplexing. The crux of the site is to create community through shared online bookmarks, which can be indexed with keywords or "tags." Some people refer to this as "social bookmarking," through which you can dig up all kinds of interesting information by clicking the tags of your own bookmarks or following the tags of other users. Not always the most productive use of one's time but lots of cool paths to be traveled. You can check out thestar.com's del.icio.us links at del.icio.us/webmaking.
Do you have a favourite boundary pushing site? If so share it with us.
I heartily agree with your exploration of technology, and specifically, online community vs. historical (anthropological) communities.
If you surf to www.myvotematters.ca, you'll find a similar idea (in the realm of politics) that I have created. That said, the challenge is to present a political site that is non-partisan and also non-commercial. The tough part is how to pay the bills. It seems that everyone wants everything for free, and have their cake too.
I'm looking forward to future developments.
Posted by: Dawson | December 28, 2005 at 09:02 PM