Piggybacking Web 2.0

Nobody wants to be used. It just something that shouldn't happen in this world we live in today, yet it does. We want to be recognized for the work we do, and the time we take to do it. This work can be just for laughs, or for a friend to look at or for whatever reason, but if this work is wanted elsewhere, and is wanted to be used for profit, we would like to be recognized. The problem with Web 2.0 today is that it creates a free world of commerce. A world where it "has become evident how this same infrastructure also enables companies easily to piggyback on user generated content." (Peterson). This quote is from an article written by Peterson in an online journal called First Monday. Peterson states that "It also becomes evident that the design and programming languages used within Web 2.0 software enables a kind of use practice where content is moved across different platforms and Web sites. This is the main reason for always approaching Web 2.0 as a relational technology, so we do not blindfold ourselves from the positive and negative effects these technologies can have."(Peterson). What this means is that by looking at Web 2.0 as relations between two or more people or companies or whatever it may be, we can try to avoid companies piggybacking us and exploiting us for our user generated content. Web 2.0 is very big, and by looking at it this way, we can see if we are being used or not. Peterson describes the Web 2.0 movement as "liberating and democratic" (Peterson). I think that’s why there is so much user generated content on the web. It's because Web 2.0 seems like such a free and wonderful place to do fun things. What we don't notice is that there is always capitalism waiting in the bushes.

I would also like to discuss a perfect example of user generated content being used now for profit. Google took over part of Usenet. Usenet was a sort of Wikipedia of information, all put there freely by users of Web 2.0. Once Google bought part of Usenet, all that information was now being used by a company for profit. There was no return for the users from Google. I don't think this is right at all. It's interesting that with all the rules on copyright that the people who do all this work have no protection from companies like Google.

The biggest internet scam that any of us have seen up to this date would be the use of Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites. We all do it. “It is when the technological infrastructure and design of these sites is combined with capitalism that the architecture begins to oscillate between exploitation and participation."(Peterson). These sites are disguised with a very nice and user friendly interface that attracts users, and once the user is on, it is uses user generated content to make profit. It's like a lobster trap, once you're in, there is no of way getting out. Then we are brought to the surface and sold at a fancy dining spot for high profit. The system is simple, yet we still fail to realize.