Media Outreach

In 2003, O’Reilly Media introduced the concept of Web 2.0 defined as “the next generation of web based communities and hosted services which facilitate collaboration and sharing between users.” In essence, Web 2.0 takes what was once strictly an informative device and integrates a sense of interactivity between the user and the World Wide Web. By identifying the characteristics and functionality of Web 2.0, we can immediately see how these new technologies can be integrated into the non-secular world, and speculate about their impact on the Church in years to come.

To better understand Web 2.0, it is important to identify some of the common characteristics found in its applications:

• Interactivity – Perhaps paramount above all else, a Web 2.0 application must be interactive. The integration of user-generated input allows an Internet user to not only read the information in front of them, but to become part of the experience as a whole. Furthermore, the interactive ability will not only affect the user, but will allow them to factor into the experience of other users as well. Services such as YouTube and Flickr exemplify this user experience model. Both allow users to share their work through the mediums of video and photography, which in turn affects the experience of other users.

• Community – Web 2.0 applications are almost always found within a community setting in which a virtual society often exists. These societies create an atmosphere for a user to contribute to the overall experience of the web application, again affecting the user’s experience as well that of other users. Applications such as Myspace and Facebook are perhaps the best example of this, as users are able to create a virtual network of acquaintances, which allows them to contribute as a member of a virtual society.

Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of this article…