WEB 2.0!

So I'm a little behind on writing this. As I'm sure a lot of people taking this course the first time I read the reader I had no idea what it was saying or trying to convey to me. I have had to read it over and over a few times to try and get a deeper understanding... What is web 2.0? 
After reading through the reader I have decided web 2.0 is a form of technology that most people will come across in everyday life and will use it without even knowing! I started using it when I was just 13 years old when I created my first 'My Space' page. 'My Space' is a very simple page that combines blogging the ideas that Facebook is created from. You could use it to upload pictures, videos, blog about what's going on in your life. what you've been up to and also upload your favourite song to your home page.
It's amazing to think how rapidly the technology has grown, and has created one of today's most popular social sites - Facebook. A page that most people take for granted and a lot of people find addictive! Who would have thought that a site only open to American students would spread across the world and become the addictive social site we know and love today.
In my opinion web 2.0 is an amazing creation and allows the world to connect in ways that with out it we could only dream off. It offers a platform for people to voice their ideas and opinions. Not only is it a tool used by us as the public but it is also used as a way for business to communicate and connect to an audience that without normally they might not have been able to reach. As with a lot of things though it's more complicated then that. Take for instance Facebook, as most people are familiar with the page layout, down the right hand side of the page there is a section that is normally used for advertising. A space where a company can rent and place an advert and can use what ever format they wish - text, picture or video. This is where things get clever, Facebook will filter what adverts appear on your screen. They do this as the reader suggests by using past search options, history on the site, pages linked to your home page and information provided by you. It doesn't just show you anything and everything, it gives you the adverts you are mostly likely to be interested in. Providing the best service for you but also the best service for the investor, the business. Below is a very basic example of this being used.
On my Facebook I have listed that I am a male interested in men. Straight away this tells Facebook that I am a gay man, also I provided the information that I was single. Facebook then took this information and the adverts that then appeared on my page were adverts for 'internet dating for gay men'. I also had adverts for Gay Times which I linked to my homepage. 
The more information you provide the more specific it can be. When Facebook created the more developed location section on the page I changed my location to London and sure enough the adverts became focused to the London area. 
As the system grows the the ability to target the more appropriate audience gets easier. Surely this must be beneficial to businesses and is allowing them to create advertising for the right audience rather then a general audience saving them time and money therefore seeing the financial gain of web 2.0. 
As Reich states there has been a dramatic decrease in costs due to the creation of the modern day communication technologies that are growing each day, not just for businesses but also for us as the user. A person no longer has to have their own website and pay for a web domain and web server to store data to get their pictures, videos and thoughts out their. We simply create a blog or Facebook page and with in the space of one click it is up online ready for the world to see. 
Another website that has been created using web 2.0 is the widely used internet sensation 'YouTube'. As O'reilly talks about the development from web 1.0 to web 2.0 it's amazing to think that 'YouTube' was only created in 2005 and has since taken off and has become a platform for people to share videos and their comments with the world. The rapid growth of such technology is incredible not even one year old (October 2008) 'YouTube's users were uploading 15 hours of video every minute. The last record shows that in May 2010 'YouTube' exceeds 2 billion views a day. 
http://www.youtube.com/t/press_timeline
With sites such as these it allows us to express ourselves and share information that with out wouldn't be able to happen. We as people are the fuel to keep web 2.0 going. As Lorenzo states the web is 'not just created by experts- it is created and co-created by amateurs'.
Without even realising it web 2.0 can play a massive part in the performing arts industry. It has allowed me to upload my C.V to a website called Spotlight, where I am more accessible to casting directors. I have been able to upload clips of my work as a director onto 'YouTube' allowing people to comment helping my work to grow and develop. Also it allows us as performers to communicate more easily and spread the word of projects and shows that are on going. 
As a whole I personally think web 2.0 is an amazing creation that has enhanced and developed my day to day life without me even knowing it. Personally I am excited to watch it grow even further and can't wait to see what the future holds. 

Well I'm glad I have finally got that out the way! Now onto the next task! :-D