Web 2.0 and the hacker paradigm

Web 2.0 is often used as a meaningless buzzword. It seems to be surrounded by a vast array of gobbledygook terms that may or may not have any deeper significance than an edgy name. Here are a few juxtapositions between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 that I found intriguing: directories:taxonomy —- tagging:folksonomy; stickiness—-syndication. These terms have more resonance to me than “gravitational core” (something I found on the definitive description site of Web 2.0, “definitive” because they created it, O’Reilly tech manuals).

http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html

Here’s O’Reilly’s wonderful meme map that offers much more:

It shows us the basic principles of 2.0:

crowdsourced, right to remix, decentralized, participatory, user-contributor mashup.

The underlying theme, I think, is the death of the gatekeeper. No entity or individual creates the sacred content, and everything is shared and transformed in an active conflagration of information. Perpetual beta… collective intelligence. An idea perpetuates because it goes viral, not because its promoted (in the traditional sense). One of the core principles of 2.0: cooperate, don’t control… So what’s left? From what do we create value? Capitalism created the concept of ‘commodity’ and now we’re stuck with it. So what is the new commodity? It’s the data, not the superstructure. From O’Reilly: “The race is on to own certain classes of core data.” Regardless of the fact that everyone’s involved in the act of creation (and distortion) now, I think that the most important aspect of Web 2.0 is this race to own core data. Data, novelty, dirt is the new commodity. I heard a great quote on the radio today: “Data on mobile devices is becoming digital currency.” If data now trumps platform, and everyone is swiping it from everyone else, and major media all draw from the same font, then where does the value come from? How can you possibly control your “unique” data core? You can’t. You have to steal it. A hacker paradigm has emerged. The prime minister of the UK just got hacked. Why? Dirt; currency, something to sell. The new uber-commodity. Once you spend it, then its gone, and you have to get much more, very quickly. Maybe I’m not seeing the whole picture, but at this moment I feel that the current rise of criminal infiltration of information resources is largely due to the transformation of personal information into the supreme commodity that was practically mandated by Web 2.0.