The Most Important Uses of Web 2.0 (Google Takes Tor to SoC)

If Web 2.0 is about social media and user-generated content, then with it comes a certain responsibility. Forget making sure that bloggers get paid a fair wage or getting your fair share of venture capital; the most important part of Web 2.0 is the ability to share information.

If you believe that is true, then you believe that Web 2.0 information sharing is a global obligation. I know that I do, and am always pleased when I see technology that aids that process getting a bit of press. First up, is the regularly under-fire Wikileaks. A group that's committed to the free and anonymous release of information that would otherwise be suppressed, they've taken it upon themselves to circumvent the censorship of news currently underway by the Chinese government. Google has apparently already caved in order to stay online in China (at least on the Chinese version of their site), but Wikileaks sticks to their mission, releasing over 120 photos and videos from last week's protests in hopes of pushing them past the Great Firewall of China.

Of course, any article that includes the name of a certain country involved in those protests (intentionally omitted here) is on the receiving end of censorship. Some video-sharing sites in China have been ordered to shut down by the government, with no specific reason given, so won't Wikileaks be censored as well? Most likely, but never let it be said that Google doesn't do anything good in this area.

The Tor Project has been accepted as a mentoring organization for Google's Summer of Code 2008, with sponsorship from the EFF. This is the second year that the Tor Project has been accepted, and they promise that the coders who work on their project will see their code put into use.

For those unfamiliar with Tor, It is an application (and Firefox plug-in) that allows users to surf the web anonymously by using a volunteer relay system. While there are some users who undoubtedly use it for surfing porn, downloading torrents, and getting around the nanny software at work, its most important use is to allow those who live in countries where much of the flow of news and other information is censored to get access to web sites that are otherwise unavailable. Tor users in countries with full Internet access can volunteer their machines to participate in the relay, allowing a free flow of information.

Both of these projects are a more valuable use of time than arguing amongst ourselves about the current status of Web 2.0, and may help far more people.