Note to readers

This is a blog that I'm required to keep that's full of unedited, near stream-of-consciousness reactions to similarly required and related readings in a graduate course in N.C. State University's Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media program. The way these posts are written help me interrogate and understand what's going on in our readings. I'm identifying what's troublesome so that I can give it more thought, but the posts aren't written in a style that's productive for audiences outside of our class to read. That's by design. I start with contestation, then spend heavens only knows how long researching, recutting, and reevaluating so that I can try and see what potentially productive readings I can extract from these source for use in my own work's contributions back to the field. Comments encouraged, but please, you'll likely need a thick skin if your work is quoted here.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

And then there was Web 3.0

From EU will lead in 'Web 3.0' technology - Digital Lifestyle - Macworld UK:

European Telecommunications Commissioner Viviane Reding won glowing praise for her vision of the Internet 3.0 Monday from Vint Cerf, one of the creators of the Web and now Google's vice president and chief Internet evangelist.
...
'Web 3.0 means seamless 'anytime, anywhere' business, entertainment and social networking over fast reliable and secure networks. It means the end of the divide between mobile and fixed lines. It signals a tenfold quantum leap in the scale of the digital universe by 2015,' she said in a statement."


Quick, time to search and replace all your paper's references to Web 2.0 and update to version 3. And a "tenfold quantum leap"?!! Sheesh, somebody go get Bakula out of retirement. That's 10 to the 10th power, isn't it?

Seriously, Larry, this is what happens when you... Okay, I'll leave out the Lebowski reference this time.

But this is what happens when academics are uncritical in their acceptance of business slang. Suddenly, your work is obsoleted because some bigwig in business decided it was time. Tell me what's the difference between this conception of Web 3.0 and what you thought Web 2.0 could have become. No, really. Now, how much ink will be spilt by everyone trying to make 3.0 their own for no good reason other than a clever marketing push.

Stay away from industry when commenting on industry, folks!

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