The document discusses the evolution of the web from its inception to the concepts of Web 2.0, focusing on user-generated content, social collaboration, and interactivity through various platforms like blogs and social networking sites. It emphasizes the importance of microcontent, openness in communication, and the role of folksonomy in organizing information. The text also outlines the significance of context in enhancing content and the interdisciplinary lessons that can be applied in web design from various media forms.

1. RMIT MUSIC INDUSTRY 2010 Concept Development Week #5: Media and Meaning on the Web Image from Flickr.com © Mr. Greenjeans

2. The Web A universe of network-accessible information, the embodiment of human knowledge Began as a ‘networked information project’ where Tim Berners-Lee (Director of W3C) developed a vision The Web has a body of software, and a set of protocols and conventions. Through the use hypertext and multimedia techniques, the web is easy for anyone to roam, browse, and contribute to. An early talk about the Web gives some more background on how the Web was originally conceived - from World Wide Web Consortium http://www.w3.org/WWW/

3. The Web 2.0 Concepts Emergent technologies, fluid, continuous improvement, greater opportunity for social collaboration/sharing and user-generated content. Social software Microcontent Openness Folksonomy

4. Social Software blogs, wikis, trackback, podcasting, videoblogs, social networking tools like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter

5. Microcontent Content is not static, but fluid . Blogs are about posts, not pages. Wikis are streams of conversation, revision, amendment, and truncation. Podcasts are shuttled between Web sites, RSS feeds, and diverse players. These smaller content blocks can be saved, summarized, addressed, copied, quoted, and built into new projects (eg. Educause 2006, para 4)

6. Openness The flow of microcontent between domains, servers, and machines depends on two-way access. User communicates with their viewer who can communicate back via posts, comments and conversation. (eg. Educause Review, 2006, para 6)

7. Folksonomy and metadata “ wisdom of crowds”, Web 2.0 services respond more deeply to users than Web 1.0 services. Traditional metadata (data about data, usually hierarchical and pre-determined by ‘higher authorities’ eg. The Dewey Decimal System library catalogue) (eg. Educause 2006, para 7) Folksonomy is user-generated metadata: tags attached to delicious bookmarks, tags/categories attached to blog posts Tags/categories can be arranged into ‘ clouds’ (as in this example on my blog)

8. Web 2.0 Practices Networked interactivity, including: Social bookmarking Social Networking (eg. Facebook, Twitter) Blogging RSS updates

9. Social Bookmarking Users can store, describe, share bookmarks as well as discover bookmarked sites which relate to their interests/research areas. Sites like del.icio.us are ‘folksonomic’. Subscribe to this class’ del.icio.us bookmarks tagged ‘rmitmusic’: http://delicious.com/tag/rmitmusic

10. Blogging The read/write notion: barrier between author and reader is pushed. Ongoing possibilities for comment and conversation (eg. Educause 2006, para 14) Demonstrated connectivity : by hyperlinking (linking to other sites), listing blogrolls, del.icio.us bookmarks, RSS feeds, bloggers can offer greater context/insight into their point of view Reverse-chronological posts (eg. The most recent post appears at top of the page Timely, current : because of reverse-chronology, blogs are based around current news (in politics, gossip, sport, music, art, current affairs, an individual’s life) A diary/journal-style website : generally conversational tone, updated on ongoing basis Hyperlinks and hypermedia: usually contain multiple links to other blogs/websites as well as embedded videos, audio etc. Multiple media: audio, video, photos, text all present

11. RSS How to research content in the ‘blogosphere’ which is ever- -changing, timely, microcontent-based, interactive and largely personal opinion-based (eg. How to filter out crap?) RSS subscriptions: like a junk-mail filter, subscribe to the RSS feeds of websites/blogs you choose and get ‘curated news’ delivered to your RSS reader or RSS widget on your blog Subscribe to class feed to get blog updates: http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.run?_id=0cf8d0d829eb4d7c391fdcd0aa867acd& _render=rss

12. Website Vs Blog? Website n . ‘ A set of interconnected webpages, usually including a homepage, generally located on the same server, prepared/maintained by a person/group/organisation’ http://www.answers.com/topic/website Blog n . ‘ A weblog is, literally, a "log" of the web - a diary-style site, in which the author (a "blogger") links to other web pages he or she finds interesting using entries posted in reverse chronological order (eg. Most recent post first) http://www.guardian.co.uk/weblog/special/0,10627,744914,00.html

13. Active Vs. Passive Douglas Rushkoff ‘ Ten Commands for a Digital Age: Program or be Programmed ’ (watch video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imV3pPIUy1k Dan Mackinlay (UTS) The web as a contested landscape: http://netcultures.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/the-web-as-a-contested-landscape/#more-69

14. Hypertext and Hypermedia Websites are built on hypertext and hypermedia Hypertext is text which is not constrained to be linear. Hypertext is text which contains links to other texts. The term was coined by Ted Nelson around 1965 (see History ). HyperMedia is a term used for hypertext which is not constrained to be text: it can include graphics, video and sound , for example. Apparently Ted Nelson was the first to use this term too. Hypertext and HyperMedia are concepts, not products. (eg. W3, 1995 para 1-4)

15. Content and Context Why link? Why use a blog? Why subscribe to RSS? Why social bookmark? Why publish and share your RSS, bookmarks and favourite sites? Arguably, context is as important as content Context: verifies and curates what’s online Context: gives greater insight/ background and deeper meaning to a blog/website Context: creates community

16. Intertextuality, layering, composition In designing our websites, what can we learn from other media? Look at: Print (newspapers, books, magazines, comics) Radio Television Cinema Visual art Music and live performance

17. Editing, juxtaposition, storytelling What can we learn from the following audio- visual concepts when designing our websites? Lev Kuleshov (editing and context) Juxtaposition Digital storytelling and narrative

18. Audio-visual relationships As sound designers, musicians and music enthusiasts, consider how audio and image connect in: Film sound Music video Video Art Text and sound Image and sound Sound Installation Live audio-visual performance DJ and VJ set

19. References Educause Review, 2006, Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning? , Educause, viewed 8 April 2010 http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Review/EDUCAUSEReviewMagazineVolume41/Web20ANewWaveofInnovationforTe/158042 URSULA K. HEISE Columbia University, 1996, Columbia University, viewed 7 April 2010 http://www.columbia.edu/cu/21stC/issue-3.2/heise.html World Wide Web Consortium, 1997, What is Hypertext, viewed April 2010 http://www.w3.org/WhatIs.html Dan Mackinley, 2009, The Web as a Contested Landscape, Netcultures blog, viewed April 2010 http://netcultures.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/the-web-as-a-contested-landscape/#more-69