PLATFORMS in media are a means to communicating something. They can include newspapers, magazines, the internet, blogs, advertisements etc. I have used one of the readings to expand on the Internet as a platform and how it has progressed and is used as a platform for communicating and creating in Web 2.0.
In the first chapter of David Gauntletts book, “‘Making is Connecting: The social meaning of creativity, from DIY and knitting to YouTube and Web 2.0,’” he presents the idea of “making is connecting”. He believes that making things and connecting with things are actually the same process due to three reasons:
- making is connecting because you have to connect things together to make something new
- making is connecting because acts of creativity usually involve a social dimension and connect us with other people
- making is connecting because through making things and sharing them in the world, we increase our engagement and connection with our social and physical environment
David explains how Web 1.0 was similar to metaphorical seperate gardens (see image below). This basically means that although there were many websites, they were not connected in anyway and were separate with a fence in between each website. Web 1.0 is an alright platform and is still functional however it differs greatly to Web 2.0. Web 2.0 as a platform is the opposite and opens up these fences and each website works collectively in a shared space.
The essensce of Web 2.0 is its interactivity compared to Web 1.0. Web 2.0 has the idea that websites and services can be more powerful and join hands collectively to help each other and embrace each other. Examples of this are RSS feeds, Facebook and Twitter sharing and blogging. Youtube is a great broadcast channel that contributes to more than just bringing in an audience. It allows its users to play and individually contribute to the website by uploading videos. Gauntletts explains how the Web 2.0 is essentially an approach to the Web. It is about harnessing the collective abilities of the members of an online network, to make a powerful resource or service. He explains how users of the internet shape and create their own environments by stamping their individuality on the world. An example of this would be blogging. When someone makes a fashion blog, they are creating an environment for their own style and stamping their individuality all over the internet.
Reference: Gauntlett, David (2010) Making is Connecting <http://www.makingisconnecting.org/>
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