The Times, They Are A-Changin'

Before this class, I had never heard of Web 2.0. Really. But to be fair, I also had never heard of del.icio.us, folksonomy, RSS, or most any other buzzwords and topics related to the concept. To my credit, I was aware of flickr, but this was from my techno-savvy friend in Suriname. She e-mailed me the link so I could see her pictures.

A coworker of mine who shared my interest in English as a subject used to call me a Luddite. To my shame, I had to look up the term (though I never admitted it to him), and after discovering what he meant, I’d have to agree. Most people would just say I’m a technophobe. Not an extreme case (I’d like to think), but I just got rid of my phone line and internet yesterday. They cost too much, and I don’t really need those amenities at home. I can get online at school any time. I like to write by hand. I like to bake bread, kneading it by hand. I like to grow my own food. What can I say? I feel more connected, more alive somehow by doing things the “old-fashioned way.” Canned broth? No thanks, I’ll make my own stock. It tastes better.
So this is a prime time for me to rediscover the internet. The first thing that drew my attention was the term “folksonomy.” The more I read (and Googled) about it, the more I liked it. I like folk. I like folk music. Folky things in general are right down my alley. The idea of collaboration for something larger, some sort of “greater good,” is what I like. It may just be a glorified word for tagging, but it helped me to see things in a different light. Suddenly it isn’t big, scary, faceless technology, its ordinary people giving their ordinary contributions. Sharing what they know.
The idea that business models can be founded on an “architecture of participation” was another exciting one. I like to think of software as a service, rather than a product. I like the unity that comes from these concepts.

To me, technology has often been a means of isolation. Computer geeks shut themselves in their apartments and don’t know how to behave in society. Kids play video games and don’t talk to their parents or play outside. Families watch TV instead of interacting with each other. It becomes possible to live a live where we no longer know that apples grow on trees, or potatoes underground, or that hamburgers come from cows. It becomes possible to go through a whole day- working, paying bills, shopping- without ever stepping outside the front door or seeing another human. It’s no wonder I’m afraid.

But maybe the winds of technology are changing. Maybe there’s hope for a balance where people can interact in more than one way, that our lives can be enhanced by these networks instead of warped by them. I’m exaggerating, I know. These things have been possible for a long time, but right now they seem a whole lot more likely.