Response to the question:
1. To what extent has your understanding of Web 2.0 platforms and tools broadened your horizons in your life outside the classroom? What additional connections can you identify between your academic work in this learning community and your wider role as an active citizen, family member, employee, volunteer, voter, etc.
Before this class started, if someone asked me if I was internet savvy, I would confidently say yes. If they asked me what Web 2.0 was, I would’ve just as confidently said that while I hadn’t heard of it, it was probably a new internet server, similar to Firefox or Internet Explorer. Clearly, I had some learning to do! I learned that understanding web 2.0, as well as being aware of the increasingly important role that it plays in both everyday life and work in general, is different than just knowing your way around the web overall.
One of the things I learned that I found most interesting was that many people including myself use components of Web 2.0 without realizing it. After all the readings, I came to the conclusion that the biggest part or platform of Web 2.0 is really participation. All the data sharing networks, ranging from databases to YouTube videos, require participation to function and more importantly succeed. The internet itself, while it was around for a little bit before truly taking off, would not have existed and changed as it has if it weren’t for the participation of everyone in the world. Because of this, online services and programs are constantly evolving to meet not only user needs, but also just to keep up with the changes in technology. It’s not enough anymore to be able to upload a photo to your computer and print it – you have to be able to edit it, change it and turn it into a puzzle online that you can share with your family and friends.
As a volunteer for an animal rescue group, learning about Web 2.0 certainly broadened my horizons to say the least. Twitter being a great example, as I had an account but didn’t actively use it before the class began. In reading one of my classmates blog postings about “8 Useful Tips to Become Successful with Twitter,” I reconsidered trying Twitter. While I still don’t understand exactly what is so great about only entering status updates, I am aware that is all the rage, and so created an account for Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation, the group I volunteer with. I often still struggle with creating what I consider interesting “tweets,” however it is certainly working somehow as we have over 200 followers.
In April, I attended a conference for animal rescue and animal shelter workers, called the Animal Care Expo, in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of the workshops I signed up for was focused on Web 2.0 and Social Marketing. It was an excellent workshop, and I would not have gotten as much out of it had I not been taking this class at the same time (Understanding the title for one thing!). YouTube was an important topic both in the workshop and in class – by listening to my peers I learned more about YouTube, and through the workshop I learned that as a nonprofit you could actually get a nonprofit account and therefore have your page “branded” and displayed more professionally than your average YouTube user’s page. In addition I also was able to create and better utilize Flickr, another online service I had been hesitating to use as it seemed like an added hassle. All this knowledge resulted in creating both a Flickr account and a very fun and informative nonprofit YouTube account for the rescue, which can be seen here.
Overall I feel that learning and understanding the platforms of web 2.0 have enabled me to utilize the social marketing tools currently available to me, as well as given me skills that are clearly more and more wanted and needed by employers today.
