Dopp Juice Archive

Eek! They’re everywhere! I was just updating a link on a site, and accidentally typed “http://” twice. Guess what happened when I clicked the link? It took me to Microsoft.com!!Try it:http://http://www.sarahdopp.comHow on earth did Microsoft win control of that typo? I know they’re out for world domination, but they could be a little bit more covert about it.

Actually, I can already tell you what crazy thing I’ve done since the breakup. I bought a Treo. Did I need a new phone? Yes. My old one dropped dead. Did I have a compelling reason to buy a PDA? Yes. I want to use Chinese Dictionary software for looking up characters, and I’ve been lacking a central system of organization. Will it be worth the extra $15/mo to have unlimited web access and be able to take and send pictures with this gadget? That’s to be determined. But I bet it will help me blog better and more often. I have 30 days to bring this bank-account-reduction back to the Sprint store. I can at least have some fun with it in the meantime.

I’ve heard this term flying around lately. “We’re going to start a Web 2.0 venture.” “This is a Web 2.0 site.” After some research on a popular public knowledge base, it’s clear that there is no clear definition for Web 2.0. Just a feeling that people want to express in a techie-language way. The internet as we knew it five years ago (aka “Web 1.0”), was a collection of flat, unchanging html pages that shared information. You didn’t subcribe to them for constant news updates. You didn’t use them as networking tools. You we’re able to get work done on those pages. You just read what the sites had to say and surfed on. Now, that’s all changing. The internet as we know it today (aka “Web 2.0”) thrives on connections and constantly updated information. We reference and cross-reference. If site doesn’t update at least once a week, we forget about it. It’s a dinosaur. We want instant gratification and voices ringing in our ears from 20 million places. We want to internet to replace our desktop applications so everything can be stored in connection with everything else. We want what’s new today, and we want it for free (or least, for cheap). The web browser is the new workplace. So when you hear the words “Web 2.0,” don’t freak out and think you need to upgrade your internet service provider. The information superhighway isn’t rerouting you to another system. It’s just constantly under construction, and constantly offering new ways to do things. For a more complete “definition,” check out Danah Boyd‘s take on the mysterious phrase.