Web 2.0 Architectures

Time Magazine’s Person of the Year: You (and Web 2.0)

Still not convinced of the importance of the user in the Web 2.0 model in Figure 4-1? Despite its being considered “so 10 minutes ago” in some corners of the Internet, Time Magazine selected Web 2.0—and in particular, those people who are directly shaping it—as its esteemed Person of the Year for 2006, just as Web 2.0 was gathering steam.

Specifically, in December 2006 Time singled out you in recognition of your achievement as the actual source of the exciting things happening on the Internet and in society today. Yes, you, reading this right now (at least, if you’ve been contributing to the Web in some way using today’s increasingly ubiquitous tools and technologies, ranging from the basic blog or wiki to video-sharing platforms and social bookmarking sites).

The truth of the matter is that just about any interaction with the Web generates new content that someone else can use. The Web in this context is generally referred to as the Database of Intentions. What this means is that if you’re using the Web today, you’ve become an integral part of a new generation of openness, sharing, and community that some think may be recognized in hindsight as breaking down important cultural barriers and institutions, in a fashion similar to what happened in the 1960s. True, it may not seem like a revolution to those who see the Web growing bit by bit every day, but taken as a whole, there’s now little doubt that the Web has become the most ...