BBC Interview - Web 2.0

I think it’s safe to say, I can consider myself a bit of a Web 2.0 geek now. I’ve been working at Profy for the past couple of months, and three weeks ago I was interviewed by the BBC who wanted to do an interview with me on BBC Radio Five Live, about my experiences blogging, and they wanted my opinion on Web 2.0. I explained exactly what I did (blogging about Web 2.0, gadgets, technology, the computers and the internet), as part of a weekly program called Pods And Blogs.

I told them all I could about Web 2.0 technologies, new start-ups, and a few sites and topics that got a mention included…

My own blog, Tech.co.nr. (Free advertising. How could I resist?)
A spiffy blog called Profy.com. (I did promise!)
Viral video sites including YouTube. (It was bound to happen.)
Easy website creation tools, including Squidoo and Piczo. (They’re just so popular!)
The 43 Bus Blog. (Ironically, one of the busses I ride to and from school on!)
The Manchester Blog Awards (Which unfortunately I missed!)
What Web 2.0 actually was… (To which I had no definitive answer.)
Who I actually was and where I was from… (We forgot about this one!)
Web 2.0 in practice in people’s lives, and whether they know they’re using it. (This was interesting.)
Social networking. Why has it taken off so much? (Because it saves people getting up out of bed.)
Internet security. The scams, the hacks and all the nasties in-between. (I was completely unprepared!)
Kids & the net. What we do. (What do we do? Waste our time on pointless viral videos, social networking, etc.)
My opinion on the future of the net. (This was the best bit, in my opinion.)
User generated content, and sites that rely on it. (YouTube, for example.)

At the BBC, I was treated to the full shazzam. I was given a shiny little pass. I was then let through by a burly looking security guard, into a large room, in which there were lots of desks, tons of computers, and the sound of chattering voices. To the right, were a row of sound-proofed recording studios, each set up with its own highly expensive recording equipment and fancy electronic buttons, which I didn’t dare touch.

The interview went fine, without a hitch (other than me mixing up my words on numerous occasions). I’d achieved my goal, of providing a useful insight into my life, Web 2.0, blogging, and even managed to get Profy a mention once or twice. Everyone was ever so friendly, and I was questioned quite a bit by the people there.

The behind the scenes people at the BBC asked about what I did, and a few of them thought that it would be great if I could do a feature with Eamonn O’Neal, a hilarious presenter on BBC Radio Manchester morning show. So they carted me back again, one week later. This time, it was my job to set up a blog for the presenter. All went well, apart from a few minor niggles, including the presenter spelling his name wrong, and me not agreeing that ‘Robby Williams was a great singer’. Turns out I was meant to agree with him, so by the time he was miming chopping my head off, I got the picture.

The presenter, Eamonn, was helped by me, to set up his very own blog. Bad Jokes R Us was a very… (How shall I phrase this?) ‘unique’ first attempt, but for a first-timer, it wasn’t all that bad. I suppose I did say that he could write it on anything. The goal of the exercise was to get the point across of exactly how easy creating a blog is. It was ridiculously easy, even for a complete technological dunce like Eamonn!

With any luck, I’ll be back there again this Christmas, doing another feature on blogging, but that’s totally unconfirmed, so don’t get your hopes up. That said, I’m the only one getting my hopes up anyway. Before then, I’ll be busy testing out exciting new startups, and even some software. I was sent a free copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 the other day, and I’ll be hoping that it will be chopping my typing time down to nothing. However so far, it has had difficulty recognizing my voice. Maybe it’s not optimized to a child’s tone of voice? But that’s all aside from the point.

I think it’s great that the BBC are taking a sincere interest in people my age, blogging, Web 2.0 and what the future holds. They even stuck a picture and an article about me up on their website! Spiffy, huh? The world’s 26th most popular website, may I add (According to the latest Alexa statistics and rankings.) Web 2.0 is the future, and will define what happens in the next 20 or more years for mankind. The Internet is ever changing, and I think that a company as big as the BBC can recognize this, and take action on it is truly great. It deserves recognition, that the BBC are accepting developing ideas, and inviting people such as myself to go in, and get involved with spreading the word. What word? The Buzz.

Web 2.0 is an ever-changing, buzztastic place, and I genuinely believe that the BBC are taking an interest, not just for the endless riches that are in store, but for the community aspect of Web 2.0 that draws people together, and more closely knit. Of course, as Robert Sanzalone pointed out in a Profy group chat, the BBC cannot be all that bothered obviously, because they are still using dated Real Audio technology, ‘So 1997!’ - Which also meant I could not access the online version of my recorded interview from school.

All-in-all, a great experience. Having a chance to talk about the Internet and Web 2.0 live on air was great experience, and a brilliant confidence booster. Now I truly feel like one of the guys here at Profy. I’m officially Web 2.0-ish! Who am I though? Well, if you visited the BBC write-up of me, you may have noticed that I am no longer blogging under the nickname ‘Delta Taph’, but rather my real name, David Wilkinson. It’s time I was a bit more open about who I am. Here’s the rundown. I’m a 12-year old ProBlogger and yes, my real name is David. I live in Manchester, UK, and have been using the Internet for years, web designing. Only a few months back did I begin blogging. I started up my website, Techzi,  just to trial the whole ‘blogging’ thing, and instantly fell in love. Thanks to fellow Profy author, Colbert Low, I got my first real experience of blogging for a top company, b5media, as a guest blogger. It was then again Colbert who introduced me to Profy, the fancy blog that sits before you. Since then, a few other sites have let me join in with them, including TheBlogJoint and Gadgetell. Both as internships.

Enough of me blabbing though! The Internet is just waiting to be explored! Hop on your Segway and get moving…