the good and the bad of web 2.0...
As I struggle with coming to grips with web2.0 and the myriad of options and new tools, I realize that staying abreast isn't nearly as difficult as trying to separate the wheat from the chaff. There really are 3 camps. Those apps that are indeed "lifehacks" and those that are "social networking". I'm all over the former, and fairly put off by the latter. And then there are the ones that try to mesh the 2 camps together. Let's call these the "relevent networking apps". Add a little wrapper of live, interactive focus groups, and you've essentailly got web2.0 all figured out.
Lifehacks would include the productivity suites, and nifty apps that actually can add value to your life: flickr, pandora.com, backpack , del.icio.us , linked-in , eurekster.com
Hard core Social Networking sites freak me out, and i tend to stay away from them, once i've poked at them a bit: Ning, MySpace. Trying to find value and relevancy is a whirlwind of chaos is easier said than done. I want relevancy. To *MY* life. I have a hard time caring about Beth in Montana's new sound collection, or where she's going on her spring break. If I could get a social networking app that managed to package what i'm interested in, with people who are similar, i could begin to see more value. It's simply a matter of time.
The relevant networking apps are a blur, there's the social aspect, but also a bit of value… Kaboodle is one of the good ones.
The fun part of web2.0 is the increasing movement for people to actually meet face-to-face. To talk and learn and laugh and experiment and gain and share ideas. This is perhaps the mist interesting componenet, and the part that seems to get me even more intrigued that the software. It's the humanware. BarCampTDot and Mesh06
People getting excited about exciting things. That's the real excitement. Collaboration and participation. That's the real twig of web2.0