Knowledge Communities On Pinterest

 After reading through Axel Brun's article on Web2.0 and "produsage" I read through Dr. Dennen's overview of the web, Web1.0, 2.0 and beyond. I appreciated Dr. Dennen's emphasis on the products of Web2.0 being an ongoing and living document. Thus a key component of Web2.0 documents is the ability to comment on them or to provide feedback through a like button. But of course is it always fun to reflect into the future on what Web3.0, 4.0 or 5.0 might be. In this regard Dr. Dennen's emphasis on search tools interacting with us on the web is different from other definitions I have heard of Web3.0, or I guess in this case we should say guesses at what Web3.0 might look like. When I think about the future of the web I am brought back to the final sections within Brun's article that I first read for the class where he focused on how Web2.0 would eventually be commercialized and used for profit. It is exactly this aspect which I have heard emphasized in other places as a key component around web3.0, namely through the use of blockchain technologies. A great summary of this version of Web3.0 can be found here during the recent congressional hearing on blockchain technologies. In this version of Web3.0 the consumers of information not only produce content as well, but also are sharers in the process of owning and maintaining the actual network on which the internet is run, through the blockchain ledger process. Thus, in this way, the general public can monetize their own actions on the internet, instead of that monetization being in the hands of a few large companies such as Amazon and Google. Thus in addition to further integratin of Artificial Intelligence to the web to customize the experience for me as the user/producer of content, I am also excited by the potential future opportunity to have the profit value of those actions in my own hands instead of it being sold by large corporations to advertisers.