In this weeks tutorial we discussed why WordPress is a perfect example of a typical Web 2.0 application. In our group of three, Billy, Christian and I, agreed on the following main points:
- WordPress is a prime example of an application which encourages it’s users to publish and share user generated content with a wide audience.
- As a result, whilst empowering it’s users with the ability to express a range of ideas to anyone who stumbles across their blog, it can also be a source of unverified ideas, which might be confused with fact.
- WordPress offers PC-equivalent interactivity, acting like a word processing programme, such as Microsoft Word, that you might use on your own computer.
- WordPress is also a great example of what O’Reilly calls, “The Perpetual Beta”. That is, a programme connected to the internet which is always being built upon. Rather than annual or bi-annual updates, new features are released and made available to users progressively as they become available as they are developed.
- Being accessible on devices other than just the PC, WordPress is also an example of software which is, “Above the Level of a Single Device”, meaning you can access your own, as well as others content, on a number of different devices at any time, making changes or adding content to your work on the go.
- Blogging, which is what WordPress is essentially all about, itself is a rather typical feature of Web 2.0, enhancing the way users can share content and follow that of others.
The user driven content which makes WordPress what it is, as well as the points touched upon above, make this web application a fantastic example of the new direction the internet is taking. That direction is hugely driven by, and places great emphasis on, user generated content, which is the foundation of WordPress, as well as many other similar sites.
galmat 