Internet 2.0 (Fungus Among Us cont.)

As I stated in my last post I believe that the Internet is well on its way to being deified but It still has a long road ahead of it. The way things seem to be going, the Internet is being turned into a giant fishing net. People are figuring out that the easiest way to display information is in the Internet. People have more recently determined that the easiest way to get information is to put a bounty on it. When you combine these two concepts you are presented with such websites as Innocentive and X Prize. Both of these websites pay people money for solutions to problems that other groups post.

In the case of Innocentive companies or other groups can pay to have their questions posted. Questions range from creating a stove to be used in third world countries where fuel is scarce to finding cures for diseases. These organizations have been lauded by many for their forward thinking approach to problem solving.

Innocentive and X Prize are only two examples of this new type of internet use referred to as Internet 2.0. The theory behind Internet 2.0 is to use the internet for more than just posting information but also to collaboratively build upon this information. One book in particular, Wikinomics, written by Don Tapscott and Anthony D . Williams, goes into this concept in great detail. The concept of crowdsourcing, of which Innocentive is a prime example, refers to using the Internet to ask single questions to the entire planet. People from all over the world can attempt to tackle these issues.

Another interesting concept noted both in Wikinomics and on the PEW Internet website is the use of virtual worlds such as Second Life to reach out to people. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama used Second Life as a platform from which to deliver speeches and field questions from supporters. This is one of many uses for such platforms. Second Life has also been used as a setting for people to meet and discuss business plans or collaborative projects.

It seems as the though the all-encompassing Internet is the functional equivalent of a bulletin board. Personally I am blown away by the possibilities this represents and apparently so are many others. With any luck the problems being posted on these sites will continue to be solved at the same rate they are being posted. It would be foolish to wish for all of them to be solved but one can hope with the help of the growing Internet that those problems yet to be discovered will be met by the people to solve them.