Task 1b: Professional Communication Technologies
WEB 2.0
Working in a phone shop (naming no names) communication via technology is not only part of my daily life but also pays my bills! It has become a necessity for most people to be in constant communication or at least with that option available to them at all times. 99 out of 100 people I speak to at work have Facebook and almost all of those use it on their phones, most people use this form of "social media" to post banal statuses about their daily activities or share cat videos but as discussed in Reader 1 there is a possibility and a use for this type of communication in the professional world.
Firstly, what is web 2.0? In simple terms...there are no simple terms, many people have different views on what exactly defines web 2.0, if you google the question "what is web 2.0" not only do you create a paradox by asking a web 2.0 website what web 2.0 is but also google replies with: 'the second stage of development of the internet, characterised especially by the change from static web pages to dynamic or user-generated content and the growth of social media'. This essentially means that the internet moved from straight web pages that the users could read but not interact with to websites created, edited and commented on by the users, famous examples would include Facebook, Wikipedia and Flickr.
If asked I would normally argue that I do not use that many social media apps or websites, but web 2.0 is not limited to purely social media and if I think about it, it plays a bigger part in my life than I ever realised. I am a big fan of Pinterest partially for the many photos of cats but also as a place for a general life wishlist. This a website where people pin their interests (hence Pinterest) to their own personal page and lists, they can take the form of photos, links and form of media. These lists are available to view and share and comment on, you can pin anything you find on the internet and if you are looking for ideas on pretty much anything it's the place to go! This is a perfect example of 2.0, of how users can upload, download, share and experience content. www.pinterest.com
Many people use Web 2.0 in different ways, but can it be used for more than finding old school friends and asking the internet who Katy Price has married this time? My personal opinion is that yes, it can! We have been having various google training sessions at my job over recent weeks, these sessions constantly prove to me that technology is forever making our lives easier and more connected, google can help you do or know pretty much anything! You can now google a flight number and it can tell you when that flight laves, from which airport and even which gate, it can fully intergrate int our lives. I have google linked on my android phone, currently it can tell me:
1. how long it will take me to get to work from my current location
2. the weather at my current location
3. That my amazon order has been dispatched!
4. That there are traffic delays near my house and finally..
5. a list of news stories it thinks will interest me based on my internet habits
How does google do it?
This is above and beyond web 2.0 and is a fantastic example of how a 'to and fro' of information can improve technology. This is invaluable to our professional lives also, could google tell me when the next tube train is to get to that Pineapple class? Could google flag up an interesting audition on starnow or dancerspro?
Our professional lives can also be improved via "social media" sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. These sites provide access to people who could influence your career, no other form of communication gives you direct opportunity to contact your biggest heroes and ambitions.You could in theory post a Youtube video of a piece of your own choreography to a west end choreographer and end up with a job, unlikely, but the possibilities are endless.
Finally I have considered the potential for Web 2.0 from a younger generation and education perspective. On one hand it is useful, as a teacher I can now instantly show my students a video of the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker or how to perfectly execute the latest move they are learning, I could even tweet a video of their performances to big dance stars, this provides a much more interactive learning experience, nothing that our generation is used to. But it is also a dangerous form of communication, many chat rooms and even Facebook can have hidden traps. The government has been investing heavily into web safety over the last few years and for good reason, it is so easy to find any information we want on the internet now, but how do we shield children from the bad or inappropriate information?
Luckily many Web 2.0 site have age limits and bars on inappropriate content and they are constantly working on improving their safety. But the dangers are not just to children, many adults have been victims of identity theft through posting private information on Web 2.0 sites. The Met police say "The more information you make available online, the greater the risk of identity theft. It can be very tempting to reply to an email or open an attachment or post information about yourself on social networking sites, but you should never do it. The consequences of fraud can be huge, so you should be aware of the very serious risks. If someone steals you or your parent's identity they can steal a lot of money and commit crimes that could put you or your parents in danger" [1] (The metropolitan Police 2015).
Despite the dangers of Web 2.0 I do believe it to be a pioneering way to communicate and progress in ever connected lives. As the father of social media, Mark Zuckerberg astutely puts it, "The internet not only connects us to our friends, families and communities, but it is also the foundation of the global knowledge economy"[2] (Mark Zuckerberg 2015). Future generations to come are going to have access to so much information and knowledge, lets hope that the human race can use this knowledge to it's advantage to become a more connected and more caring world.
[1]The Met Police (2015) "Internet Safety", online. Available from: http://safe.met.police.uk/internet_safety/get_the_facts.html
[2]Zuckerburg, Mark (2013), “Is Connectivity A Human Right?’, online. Available from: https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t39.2365-6/12057105_1001874746531417_622371037_n.pdf
Many people use Web 2.0 in different ways, but can it be used for more than finding old school friends and asking the internet who Katy Price has married this time? My personal opinion is that yes, it can! We have been having various google training sessions at my job over recent weeks, these sessions constantly prove to me that technology is forever making our lives easier and more connected, google can help you do or know pretty much anything! You can now google a flight number and it can tell you when that flight laves, from which airport and even which gate, it can fully intergrate int our lives. I have google linked on my android phone, currently it can tell me:
1. how long it will take me to get to work from my current location
2. the weather at my current location
3. That my amazon order has been dispatched!
4. That there are traffic delays near my house and finally..
5. a list of news stories it thinks will interest me based on my internet habits
How does google do it?
This is above and beyond web 2.0 and is a fantastic example of how a 'to and fro' of information can improve technology. This is invaluable to our professional lives also, could google tell me when the next tube train is to get to that Pineapple class? Could google flag up an interesting audition on starnow or dancerspro?
Our professional lives can also be improved via "social media" sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. These sites provide access to people who could influence your career, no other form of communication gives you direct opportunity to contact your biggest heroes and ambitions.You could in theory post a Youtube video of a piece of your own choreography to a west end choreographer and end up with a job, unlikely, but the possibilities are endless.
Finally I have considered the potential for Web 2.0 from a younger generation and education perspective. On one hand it is useful, as a teacher I can now instantly show my students a video of the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker or how to perfectly execute the latest move they are learning, I could even tweet a video of their performances to big dance stars, this provides a much more interactive learning experience, nothing that our generation is used to. But it is also a dangerous form of communication, many chat rooms and even Facebook can have hidden traps. The government has been investing heavily into web safety over the last few years and for good reason, it is so easy to find any information we want on the internet now, but how do we shield children from the bad or inappropriate information?
Luckily many Web 2.0 site have age limits and bars on inappropriate content and they are constantly working on improving their safety. But the dangers are not just to children, many adults have been victims of identity theft through posting private information on Web 2.0 sites. The Met police say "The more information you make available online, the greater the risk of identity theft. It can be very tempting to reply to an email or open an attachment or post information about yourself on social networking sites, but you should never do it. The consequences of fraud can be huge, so you should be aware of the very serious risks. If someone steals you or your parent's identity they can steal a lot of money and commit crimes that could put you or your parents in danger" [1] (The metropolitan Police 2015).
Despite the dangers of Web 2.0 I do believe it to be a pioneering way to communicate and progress in ever connected lives. As the father of social media, Mark Zuckerberg astutely puts it, "The internet not only connects us to our friends, families and communities, but it is also the foundation of the global knowledge economy"[2] (Mark Zuckerberg 2015). Future generations to come are going to have access to so much information and knowledge, lets hope that the human race can use this knowledge to it's advantage to become a more connected and more caring world.
[1]The Met Police (2015) "Internet Safety", online. Available from: http://safe.met.police.uk/internet_safety/get_the_facts.html
[2]Zuckerburg, Mark (2013), “Is Connectivity A Human Right?’, online. Available from: https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t39.2365-6/12057105_1001874746531417_622371037_n.pdf
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