Web2.0 was introduced in 2003/04 to reflect the new dimension of World Wide Web. “Web 2.0 is a term that is used to denote several different concepts: Web sites based on a particular set of technologies; Web sites which incorporate a strong social component, involving user profiles, friend links; Web sites which encourage user-generated content in the form of text, video, and photo postings along with comments, tags, and ratings”. (Cormode & Krishnamurthy, 2008). One of the most important criteria of Web 2.0 compares to Web 1.0 is the ability of the web to harness collective intelligence.
Facebook is an example of Web2.0 application that is widely used by the people to create social networking hence harnessing intelligence from the user. It provides a social utility where people can connect with their friends. Facebook users can search and add friends who also have facebook account. They can also send messages, update their personal profiles and pictures and also notify their friends about themselves. There are few Web2.0 applications where people can experience social networking such as Twitter and MySpace. Facebook has extra features where people can join a group of become fan of certain groups or clubs. Hence, people can be easily updated with current activities of that group.
Issues and implications surrounding Facebook application have been debated for so long particularly issues associate with their Terms of Use. According to Flusche, 2007, Facebook reserve the right to modify their Terms of Use at any time without further notice. Facebook doesn’t guarantee the privacy and confidentiality of information stored in the website and stated that the information may become publicly available. On the other hand, the information stored shall become the sole property of Facebook. With these terms, it will be difficult for the users to complain or take legal action if there is any security breakthrough in Facebook.
In conclusion, Facebook has to address the privacy issue to continue to grow and stay competitive in the Web in future. It also needs to enhance to something more than social networking to sustain in the market.
References:
Cormode, G., & Krishnamurthy, B. (2008). Key Differences Between Web1.0 and Web2.0. Retrieved March 2010, from www2.research.att.com/~bala/papers/web1v2.pdf
Flusche, A. (2007, July 21). Facebook Isn’t Private, anfd 7 Other Things You Should Know. Retrieved March 2010, from Legal Andrew Website: http://www.legalandrew.com/2007/07/21/facebook-and-the-law-8-things-to-know/
