Integration: The Future of Web 2.0
The flow of power through the Internet is surging like Niagara falls and no where is it more powerful than in the user inhabited worlds of social networks. Through giants like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, we the users are in a position to have more pull as consumers than ever before. By enabling us to connect with long lost friends and relatives or our favorite celebrities we’ve never been more connected as a society than we are today. The size and scope of these networks is ever expanding. Now, on Facebook you can play games, rate movies or rally to a cause. This only grants us more power, and by interconnecting
services like iTunes to Facebook, iTunes to our favorite instant messenger clients, and our video games to social networks the circle of connectivity is wide and all encompassing. But what does it mean to have all of these things reporting to one another about our doings on the Web? First, it means that big companies and organizations can get rather detailed information on what you’re doing, when you do it and how many times. To an extent, that’s the bad part. But if Google has shown us anything it’s that giving the giant evil company a little personal information at least results in less annoying ads. Second, and most importantly, it means we’re on the verge of a potential boom in the best user created content to date. If Digg.com is any indication it’s that people can work together to create something that we all can enjoy. Now close your eyes and use your imagination for a moment. Take the power of the popular vote of Digg and merge it with software where content is generated by text and ideas inputed into it. Think Scribblenauts, now put those two together with the multitudes of users on Facebook, Myspace, Youtube or Twitter. What you’ll get is an ever changing, compelling piece of content created by and voted into existence by you the user. (Side note – Why hasn’t someone come up with a “choose your own adventure” style web series?) What started with Youtube and blogging has the potential to truly go into the realm of what we today consider science fiction. The cool thing about science fiction though, is that it only stays that way until someone with the know how and resources makes it science fact.
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