Due to holiday closures at Simmons, I did not get the class list in time for a Jan. 1 start, so don’t worry if you are a little behind on the deadlines for the first week or so. I hope you are all excited about doing a lot of hands-on exploration for this class, because that really is the best way to understand this stuff. Most of you are probably somewhat familiar with the things we will be covering, but just haven’t found the time to actually get your hands dirty and figure it all out for yourself. This is your opportunity.

Over the last year or two, there has been a lot of talk about Web 2.0. Unfortunately, that’s not a very descriptive term, and it was probably never intended to become a catch-all buzz word spinning off things like Library 2.0, Marketing 2.0, etc. If you’re curious about the origins of the phrase, hear it from the source.

Really, all the “2.0″suggests is a new version or an upgrade of something. But the web has been evolving all along and continues to evolve. It has been shifting in a direction that makes it much more participatory and interactive and goes way beyond the static web page. People are now doing more on the web (e.g. word processing and spreadsheets, bookmarks, project management, building networks of friends or business associates) and more people are doing things on the web. Gone are the days when there were a small number of people creating content and a vast, passive audience. Basically, that is the definition of The Read/Write Web. I think this is a much more descriptive and useful term that captures this era in the evolution of the web. However, keep in mind that some people will use Web 2.0 or web-as-platform or other terms to describe some of those same things. It’s also important to remember that the terms are not as important as the communication revolution that they are attempting to describe. That revolution is very really and very relevant to us as information professionals.

One of the things that really helped make the web a medium where many can reach many is blogs. Blogs are easy to edit web sites that have opened up web publishing to the masses. You will see this week that it’s quite easy to set up a blog and get familiar with how to write posts. The purpose and the quality of the content is up to the individual or the organization, but the need to know html code is no longer a barrier.

Let me close by saying that you should feel free to leave comments here in my blog to start discussions or ask questions. Others should then feel free to chime in or answer too. And in a few days you will all have your own blog where you can share your opinions and thoughts and others can comment and discuss.