Reflections on "The Terrible Twos"

I have to admit that I had trouble connecting with Mr. Notes as he presents case. On the one hand, he seems to be promoting the "second wave of Web techniques to create more interactive and easy-to-use websites," but he seems awful hung up on the related terminology, particularly the "2.0" connection. Here is a section from a lecture I use in a class I teach:

Let’s start by talking about where this whole “2.0” business started. Join me on a time warp back a few years. In fact, we are talking at least 10 years. Like today, software was constantly being upgraded. Microsoft Office would be a wonderful example of this, and one that is continuing though today. Now, the company just uses the date (1995, 1998, 2000, 2004) as a way to indicate a major upgrade into the next generation of software. Prior to that, they used simple number: 1.0, 2.0, 3.0. If minor upgrades were made, then it was an increase in number after the decimal point. For example, the last version of Microsoft Office to use this formula was MS Office 3.1. Some companies continue to use that formula. For example, AOL just released AOL 9.6. Basically, the phrase Library 2.0 centers around the idea of a whole new generation of library services using Internet-based services and tools.

Notes actually refers to this in the final paragraphs on page one of the article.

With Web 2.0 (and its related Library 2.0 and similar nicknames), the techie talk is really just using existing terms to simply present the major shift in the way we view using the Internet. Rather than it being simple websites that presented controlled data, the content becomes highly interactive. This means not only allowing visitors to comment on the content, but to also interact in introducing additional content and molding how the content is presented. This on-line, social interactivity becomes the basis of the idea of social networking. As a result, we find ourselves surrounded by wikis, cloud tagging, and other great tools highlighted and promoted by Notes.

I am probably being harsh on poor Mr. Notes. Five years have gone by since the article was released and the controversy he has highlighted has generally died down in the intervening years. I think a lot of that includes a growing comfort/acceptance to the related terminology. In some ways, I think the concerns about the terminology are reflective of the challenges we all face as we are confronted with major shifts at how we view the world, and social networking has definitely caused that.

And yes, when I was at the RI Library Association Conference in 2009, there was talk about the fact that there is already a growing focus on Web 3.0. Here is the blurb for his luncheon presentation:

Cliff Landis, Assistant Professor and Technology Librarian, Valdosta State University, is planning ahead for Web 3.0 and beyond— specifically, how libraries can use evolving technologies to offer outstanding user-centered services. He’ll explain the connections between 2.0 technologies, share best practices for choosing tools, and demonstrate technologies that will be impacting libraries down the line.

The cool thing as that as we give these new tools a chance, like Mr. Notes, we will find a lot of valuable opportunities.