Saturday, June 7, 2008

Why I love the web

Okay - it ain't perfect. Amazon went down recently and Twitter is down more than it's up and other web 2.0 services are often up and down.

On the other hand - I have 5 presentations and a whole lot of research notes backed up "on the cloud", as we speak. (I also have copies on my thumbdrive...) I don't have to worry if my laptop get stolen, or crashes. I don't have to worry about a data disk getting stolen or losing pieces of valuable paper. AFAIC, the more I have on the web, the more I live my life online, the easier life is for me. So yeah - I'm a fan of places like Google (who truly improves my quality of life) and Apple and Amazon. And a lot of little companies that also make my life better. Wesabe helps me keep track of my finances. Google helps me learn new things, research, and save what I've found with tags so I can find it again (and help others find it). IwantSandy and RemembertheMilk both help me remember important things. Google calendar tracks important appointments and events, (like "refill my prescription" and "give the cat its flea treatment") and google docs let me collaborate with others. Podcasts and RSS feeds keep me up to date on the world. Email, IM, Facebook, Twitter keep me in contact with friends and communities.

I just took a class this quarter on Web 2.0 - activism on the web. Some folks complain about the "Cult of the Amateur" or worry about the funnelling effect or privacy concerns. I understand these concerns, but for me, they don't diminish the value of the web. So yeah - there's a whole lot of really awesome companies out there doing some pretty kewl stuff and I'm all for it! I look forward to its expansion.

I'm just sitting here with my head in the clouds, computing...

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