Sociology And, Of And In Web 2.0 - Summary

Sociology and, of and inWeb 2.0: Some Initial Considerationsby David Beer and Roger Burrows, 2007
Summary and Presentation by Filiz Efe
Master of Communication in Digital Media,
U N I V E R S I T Y O F W A S H I N G T O N
2009

ABOUT
In their research (2007)
“Sociology and, of and in Web 2.0: Some Initial Considerations”,
David Beer and Roger Burrows
introduce the Web 2.0 by providing definitions and examples of the wikis, folksonomies, mashupsand social networking sites
and point towards agendas for the development of a viable sociology of Web 2.0.

Main sections
The paper is divided into three sections:

Sociology and Web 2.0
Web 2.0:
They are second generation platforms where users are involved as producers and consumers of the information. (O'Reilly, 2005)
Both operating software and applications move above the level of a single device. (O'Reilly, 2005). Technology moves from the desktop to the webtop. (Lash, 2006)
Users are involved in processes of production and consumption as they generate and browse online content, as they tag and blog, post and share.

They focus on four types of Web 2.0 application:
Wikis:User-generated resources constructed and edited by anyone who wishes to contribute by adding and/or modifying the information. Ex. Wikipedia, OneLook
Folksonomies: Social online platforms where users label (tagging), locate, mark or classify a webpage. (content describing/classifying content and enabling it searchable). Ex. YouTube, Del.icio.us.com and Flickr
Mashups: Hybrid applications, where two or more technologies or services are conflated into a completely new, novel, service' (Maness, 2006: 9). They present and repurpose existing information in new ways. Ex. Gizoogle
Social Networking Sites (SNS): Online platforms where users build profiles about themselves, posting photos, information about their backgrounds, views, work, and so on, and make 'friends' with other users.

Sociology of Web 2.0
They point towards threeagendas for the development of a viable sociology of Web 2.0:

The changing relations between the production and consumption of content
The line between the creation and consumption of content in these environments was blurred' (Maness, 2006).
Usersare taking active role in producing commodities. (Thrift, 2005) The feed they generate about their everyday lives; the content posted on profiles and connections are the commodities of Web 2.0. This content is the informational archive of the individuals’ everyday lives.

The mainstreaming of private information posted to the public domain
Especially SNS creates a situation in which private information (Thoughts, views, education/employment information, personal photographs) becomes open and accessible to anyone with access to the Internet.
As users participate in generating or producing content they build up an archive of their 'everyday life' that is openly accessible. Their preferences, choices, and other personal details.

A new rhetoric of 'democratisation'
Web 2.0 has been ushered in by rhetoric of 'democratization'.
This is defined by stories and images of 'the people' reclaiming the Internet and taking control of its content; a kind of 'people's internet' or less positively, the emergence of the cult of the amataur (Keen, 2007).
This has led to a new collaborative, participatory or open culture, where anyone can get involved, and everyone has the potential to be seen or heard.
According to this vision there are opportunities for our thoughts to get heard, our videos to be seen, and our music to be listened to.
This rhetoric demands sociological examination: how it is formed; the formation of new hierarchies, patterns of social participation.

Sociology in Web 2.0
“we need to be inside of the networks, online communities, and collaborative movements to be able to see what is going on and describe it. “
“once inside these networks we may explore the possibilities of using Web 2.0 applications, and particularly the interactive potentials of SNS, as research tools or research technologies.”
“Web 2.0 has a range of implications for sociologists. Not only does it create for us new opportunities for research, and maybe teaching, but these applications are already being used to say things about us, about the concepts and writers that we use, about our teaching, and about our institutions. Whatever we may choose to call it, it is important that we at least acknowledge that we are being subject to processes of remediation, and to begin to think through how we might respond.”

reference
Beer, D and Burrows, R (2007). “Sociology and, of and in Web 2.0: Some Initial Considerations”. Sociological Research Online, Volume 12, Issue 5. Retrieved on July 19, 2009 from http://www.socresonline.org.uk/12/5/17.html

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Sociology And, Of And In Web 2.0 - Summary

by Filiz Efe on Jul 20, 2009

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Sociology And, Of And In Web 2.0 - Summary — Presentation Transcript