BAPP Task 1b- Professional Communications Technology

What is Web 2.0?

'The second stage of development of the Internet, characterised especially by the change from static web pages to dynamic or user-generated content and the growth of social media' (google definitions)

Well that is Google's definition but I needed a more in depth explanation. What I have gathered from Reader 1 and my own research, is that Web 2.0 in a nutshell is the interactive side of the web. Before my generation the Internet was just a source of information, but you couldn't do anything with it. Now you can share, like, input your own information and comment on other peoples. You can connect with people across the world, with just a few clicks of a button. The technological advancement within the last 50 years is extraordinary and somewhat hard to believe.

Every generation has had a different way of communicating and for this generation we have endless possibilities. But are there too many options? Are we being bombarded with new ways to communicate that we don't even need? Personally I think, yes. I am guilty of having pretty much every sort of social media that you can have, like most people my age but I find after a while that it becomes boring and repetitive. In an article from Business Insider UK, Jim Edwards talks about the decline of Twitter users 'The number of people actually using Twitter by tweeting or creating new accounts peaked in August 2014 and is now in decline.' The reasons for this are plentiful. Is it because people are looking for the next big social media sensation? Are we coming to a realisation that tweeting about your day to day life isn't in fact that interesting? Or are people becoming more selective about what they invest their time in? It's so easy for people to delete their social media page, that websites are constantly trying to find new ways to interest you. App updates happen every week, just so it can keep up with the times and create new trends. For example last week Facebook released 'Reactions' and extension of the 'like' button. It's only available in Spain and Ireland at the moment but it allows you to express different emotions towards a post; angry, sad, wow, yah, haha, love and the traditional thumbs up for posts you like.

According to an article in The Daily Telegraph this month, Facebook has devoted an entire team to expanding their emotional responses available to their audience, it's called the 'Compassion Research Team'. Their goals are to create empathy among Facebook users by using emotions we feel in real life and 'Keep you coming back for more meaningful human contact'. (Madhu Murgia) Regardless of whether Twitter is in decline or any social media for that matter, it's inevitable that there will always be new and improved ways to communicate online as part of Web 2.0. People are always inventing and there's no way that we could go backwards from this.

The pros of Web 2.0

The obvious benefit of Web 2.0 is being able to stay connected with people all around the world. Sometimes connecting with people that you wouldn't normally in your day to day life. Making friends with people across the world. The biggest help to me was when Skype was brought out into the world. I've been at boarding school since I was 8 and my parents lived in Egypt. It cost a lot to make international calls, so our conversations were always brief and far apart. For an 8 year old living away from home this wasn't always enough. When Skype came along, it seemed too good to be true. Making free calls across the country and video chatting seemed like a lot to give away for free. It was a huge help and it made me feel much closer to home. It's also very helpful for our course at Middlesex because we can continue in our professions wherever we are and still come together virtually when we need to.

Secondly, the information that is available to you on sites such as YouTube, is endless; though we do have to make sure that we can differentiate between the facts and fiction. I found that in my last year of school, living by myself, I had never YouTubed so much in my life. I needed videos on how to boil an egg and to remove stains from clothing. The typical student things and YouTube was so helpful. Numerous videos appear within seconds and I'm suddenly Jamie Oliver in the kitchen. The diverse material that is offered to you on the Web makes searching for information ridiculously easy.

The cons of Web 2.0

Many teenagers are victims of cyber bullying or 'trolls' and this is obviously a massive problem for our society and one that is almost impossible to solve. On the Internet you can be anonymous or pose as someone, so it's very difficult to find the source of the bullying. In October, BullyingUk saw calls relating to cyber bullying increased by 77% over a 12 month period as reported in The Telegraph October 2015. Those most affected are aged 11 to 16. Social media companies obviously don't want it to happen on their sites but it's unavoidable. Various social medias have restrictions in place to minimise bullying, for example you can report a post or a picture if you find it offensive or upsetting but you can't control what everyone says. This has its limitations because if someone doesn't report it, then there can't be anything done about it. But when it is put into motion it is effective.


There is a lot of pressure now to keep your social media professional because it could cost you a job. Employers can type your name into Google and find your social media pages and it's important that there's nothing embarrassing that you wouldn't want your future employer to know. I always base it on if I don't mind my parents seeing it then it's okay for everyone else. There have been many stories of people not getting jobs because of what employers found on their social media, usually racist comments or threatening comments that you maybe didn't mean but they're under your name, you have to be very careful what you post and who you might offend.

Another con for some people is that the use of social media and sites like Amazon provides information which is then available to marketing companies about your buying habits and your lifestyle. They then use this information to make more targeted ads or offers that suit each individual.

Conclusion

To conclude, I know it seems like there are many serious responsibilities that come with having social media but I do think that Web 2.0 is a great thing and has more benefits than disadvantages, when used sensibly.

So as much as our parents say that we are addicted to our phones and technology has ruined us because we're not social anymore, I just think it's a new way of being social.  When we're on our phones we are usually communicating with someone, either over Facebook or by sharing an image on Instagram, or Tweeting our friends. It's all social but just in a different way than our parents experienced it, they sent a letter we send a Snapchat.