Web 2.0 - The Price

Web 2.0, is a wonderfully simple, highly useful thing… But now, leading experts say there is a price. Along with user-enabling power, people must be aware of the situation. With power, there is also responsibility. Web 2.0 is not defined by any one thing, as the numerous posts by Profy authors trying their best to give a definition has shown, and still no one knows the fate of the web. At the current growth rate, the internet should become a major factor of our jobs (meaning that they solely depend on it) within just several years. The price? Well, aside from broadband fees, users must be aware that no one offers their services or money for free. These people only do it because there is something in it for them. Like all good things in life, the Internet isn’t just made up of good people. Sneaky tricksters will always be there, waiting to trap, and catch you out. With the latest figures taken into account, virus-writers will no longer be groups of spotty teenagers, but highly trained professionals who set out with a mission. A task: to disable a group of people. Whether it be the users of a competitors’ website, a thriving new opportunity which conflicts with beliefs of the group, or be it on the orders of an Internet orientated mafia, the net is ever-changing and therefore completely unpredictable. Why am I telling you this? Because you need to be prepared. Obviously, as the web is so unpredictable, nobody knows if we’ll even be using ‘.com’ domains in twenty years time. Things change dramatically. The company behind Flickr didn’t even exist four years ago, but it seems like they’ve been around forever.

The message my friends, is not to expect anything. Don’t take what you have for granted, and don’t expect it to be there tomorrow. This is the internet, not a park.