Web 2.0 TIME person of the Year 2006

Web 2.0 Time person of the Year 2006

In this article written by Lev Grossman, the practicality, myth, legend, and traditional recognition of a person as the significant figure of the year was dashed to represent the complicated encyclopedia writings of Wikipedia, the recognized by millions visually stimulating images on YouTube, and the populated social networking of My Space.

The author stated, “It’s a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people and making them matter. Silicon Valley consultants call it Web 2.0, as if it were a new version of some old software. But it’s really a revolution.”   The big news in the article was how not just traditional companies like Reuters used this medium but the creation of a new and still evolving digital democracy that the World Wide Web has connected in real time.

The computer was one of the first unusual non human represented covers on TIME magazine in 1982, story written by Otto Friedrich.  When the fascination for the computer was the mere speed of sending a message, being able to monitor anesthesia during surgery and have a rock group like Earth, Wind, and Fire to use one to explode smoke bombs onstage during concerts.  So here we are in the 21^st century, as the collective YOU using Web 2.0 to sense ourselves as reaching out to others with our thoughts expressed for the entire world to see.  The TIME person of the year, going forward resonates with all of us on a minute by minute, hour by hour and daily basis as we continue to surf, research, and publish our interactions and reactions over this medium.  A synergy in the making…only time will tell if this Web 2.0 fame is fleeting or really depictions of fragmented stages of you, wondering who is out there in cyberspace.   E. Belmonte