Web 2.0

The Web 2.0 refers to the new trends in the internet and what it has become as a result of us. With the rise of blogs, youtube, twitter, myspace, facebook, wikipedia, etc, average people now have a greater potential to leave a mark on the internet and connect to each other. The internet began as something made by the professionals at yahoo, google, and the other .com's. Now, it is becomimg a reflection of what all of us collectively want it to be. This is what I think the video means by "The Machine is Us)".

As far as "The Machine is Using Us", I think it is refering to the old roadblocks that exist in the internet that are keeping us from making the internet what we want it to be. This includes copyrights, privacy and interface design. The video said the internet is no longer just linking information, but people and their ideas. The internet is shifting from being a creature of the companies and their shareholders to being a creature of the people as a collective. The remnants from the old internet of the 90's are still "using us" to some degree, and that is why we need to "rethink everything."

I would advise people going into the workfore and people already in the workforce to keep this and mind and understand that the future of the internet, and by extention us, lies in greater freedom of communication and interactivity. The trend in many industries, following the trend in the internet, is towards greater transparency and interactivity with average people. We now see news organizations reading viewers' emails on air and product designers getting more direct feedback from their consumers. The the collective knowlege of people is a powerful tool, it can and should be harnessed many companies. The rise of Web 2.0 should not be viewed as an unfortunate loss for private investors, but as the beginning of a new and better chapter in the internet and the power of technology.