Web 2.0 and the Network Effect
March 3, 2011
Personally, after reviewing our previous discussion posts, I have decided to focus on web 2.0 and content authoring by Kathe Conrad (originally posted back on 2/9). Kathe’s discussion between her peers highlighted two important points for me. First, Kathe discussed that Dabbagh and Reo (2011) had identified that web 2.0 inception occurred around the same time-frame of the dot com crisis back in 2000. Personally, after reflecting on the previous statement, this lead one to hypothesize that due to worldwide internet business decline (worldwide) it lead directly or indirectly to increased user-generated content. Currently, it is evident that increased user generated content has had a “network effect” and this is apparent in how most of us learn today; through the use of wikis, blogs, and image blogs at home, at work and in graduate school. A great example of the network effect is Wikipedia and how learners can make reasonable contributions on a given subject and collaborate with others while authoring a living document.
Secondly, I strongly agree with the statement made by Downes (2005) that “web 2.0 is not a technical revolution, it is a social revolution” and this is why I believe that Wikipedia has taken over as one of the leading resources on the internet. Personally, I believe that web 2.0 has facilitated a social learning experience for its users and this is why I believe it has changed the way our society learns. However, Boshra’s post identified that not all those in academia agree with this modality of e-learning and personally, I believe that all learners can benefit from both traditional and non-traditional learning methods.
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3 Comments Add your own
Hi Andrew. Great narrative of our Web 2.0 discussions and general opinions. I think that the concept of web 2.0’s user generated content is great. The idea that web users can share receive news from several sources opens a new world of information gathering. Users can quickly find exactly what they’re looking for; they can interact with like-minded individuals and access their data at anytime
I agree that web 2.0 has facilitated a social learning environment for its users, however user generated content does have it downsides. With the great new content being put online, comes the bad as well. Anonymity can cause polarization and hate. Users of web 2.0 tools must now develop skills to identify reliable content.
Hello Andrew,
I liked the quote you wrote “web 2.0 is not a technical revolution, it is a social revolution”. Indeed, web 2.0 tools changed the way people learn. You are no longer learning with your peers in the class, town or country, you are learning with people around the world.
About Wikipedia, I admit it is my first resource when I search for something. However, its aspect of open editing reduced the validity of its information, so you cannot consider Wikipedia one of your academic resources.
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