Researching websites that pioneer Web 2.0

1. Web 2.0 research
Jack Cooper

2. Flickr
1) What is this site for & what does it allow users to do? Flickr is a photo sharing website set
up in 2004 where any registered user can upload their photos, create albums and share their
memories with other users and even the general public.
2) Why is it a web 2.0 application? This is a website which is ran by people uploading content
and sharing it with others. The audience of this website are who gives it the content, which
therefore makes it a solid web 2.0 website.
3) How does it impact on media audiences? This website has allowed media audiences to see
more content in one central area, and has therefore made photo browsing easier. It has also
allowed people to connect by sharing albums over the internet, even if they are halfway
across the world from each other.
4) How does it impact on media producers? For those who take the photos and distribute
them on Flickr, this website gives them a greater chance of their photography work being
seen by a greater audience, which could be greatly beneficial to them for their professional
career.

3. Wikipedia
1) What is this site for & what does it allow users to do? This is an online encyclopaedia where
users can access ‘articles’ about millions of different subjects, people, and even concepts.
They are edited and maintained by the general public, but is these days heavily moderated. It
was set up in 2001.
2) Why is it a web 2.0 application? Since any person can edit a Wikipedia page with their own
knowledge and not just the site creators, this makes it a web 2.0 page.
3) How does it impact on media audiences? Because Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia that can be
edited by anybody, it gives the potential that it brings a lack of trust towards the website.
Unlike a conventional book or web 1.0 website, a user cannot apply quite as much trust into
this information source.
4) How does it impact on media producers? This website could have a negative impact of those
who produce book encyclopaedias, as the general public may associate encyclopaedias in
general as untrustworthy – not just the website.

4. Twitter
1) What is this site for & what does it allow users to do? Twitter is a form of microblogging
website which allows any registered user to send a ‘tweet’ – a post that is limited to 140
characters. It currently holds over 300 million monthly active users . It was set up in 2006.
2) Why is it a web 2.0 application? Any registered users can send their own tweets, as well as
their own media. This contributes to another user’s ‘timeline’ if they are following them.
3) How does it impact on media audiences? This gives the audience a far more personalised
feel to what content they want to see, rather than what the producer gives them to view
regardless. This all links back to the audience being active rather than passive.
4) How does it impact on media producers? Media producers can now communicate with
people who are interested with their thoughts and work, rather than just a generalised
audience. This has the potential to give them significantly more audience engagement, and
therefore greater success. It also allows for their work to be shared with ease.

5. Facebook
1) What is this site for & what does it allow users to do? Facebook is a social networking site
set up in 2004 which allows users to connect with their friends and family from all across the
world. They are able to share pictures, text, videos, and websites.
2) Why is it a web 2.0 application? The users of this website have complete control over what
content they see thanks to who they are friends with, and what pages they decide to ‘like’.
3) How does it impact on media audiences? The audience are able to cherry-pick what content
they want to see depending on how well it fits within their ideologies. It therefore allows
audiences to stay within their ‘comfort zone’.
4) How does it impact on media producers? Content that media producers share on this
platform have the ability to be shared between other users, and therefore gives it the chance
to go viral. This is especially beneficial as viral content can essentially be seen as free
advertising.

6. Kickstarter
1) What is this site for & what does it allow users to do? Kickstarter was founded in 2009 as a
platform where registered users can promote any form of invention they may have to other
users. If the product was appealing, users would fund the project and then bring it to reality
if the target is met.
2) Why is it a web 2.0 application? Kickstarter is a web 2.0 application because it allows users
to upload their own invention pages and call on other users to fund for them. The majority of
the website is made up of user generated content.
3) How does it impact on media audiences? Audiences are able to see content from the
general public which would otherwise stay out of the spotlight. It therefore gives them more
of a choice.
4) How does it impact on media producers? Smaller media producers are able to put their
projects into the spotlight which would not otherwise get a chance. It therefore promotes
more indie content.

7. Instagram
1) What is this site for & what does it allow users to do? Instagram is a photo sharing website
which was founded in 2010 and taken over by Facebook shortly after that. Users can post
photos and videos along with comments and captions.
2) Why is it a web 2.0 application? The whole basis of Instagram is driven along by user
generated content. Users are able to create their own media and interact with other users’
media.
3) How does it impact on media audiences? Like all the other social networks, this kind of
website gives the user far more flexibility on what they choose to see. It once again gives the
same effect of giving users more of a chance to stay in their comfort zone.
4) How does it impact on media producers? Media producers can use this platform to promote
their products to a user base which consists of hundreds of millions of people. It’s an
effective form of free advertising.

8. YouTube
1) What is this site for & what does it allow users to do? YouTube is a video sharing
website that was founded in 2005 and taken over by Google a year later. Any
registered user can upload any genre of video they wish to a worldwide audience
of over 1 billion people.
2) Why is it a web 2.0 application? This is a web 2.0 application because users are
entirely responsible for the content that goes onto the website.
3) How does it impact on media audiences? Since anyone is allowed to create and
upload to the website, it gives the audience far more choice when it comes to
what media they want to watch.
4) How does it impact on media producers? YouTube is free and therefore gives a
good platform for new indie producers who are on a limited budget. With
YouTube, more indie creators have the chance to make it big.