Since Time Magazine selected me as their Person of the Year, I wanted to make a brief comment on their choice. While I'm flattered to receive the honor, I don't think I'm worthy. Even though I really dig Web 2.0 and am blogging at this very moment, Time Magazine should have chosen the creators of Web 2.0, as opposed to the users - because software developers are the ones who made it all possible.
In selecting 'You' as Person of the Year, Time gives kudos to a lot of forward-thinking individuals who use Web 2.0 for great causes, but they also selected a bunch of folks who blog about nothing of importance - myself included. While I understand the magazine's choice and am awed by the power of Internet (this little blog gets hits from around the world - see image below), I don't think my blog is Person of the Year material.
George Will of The Washington Post wrote a great op-ed regarding the topic, and I agree with much of what he says.
And, in addition to the Web 2.0 innovators, the open source guys deserve some credit, as they allow you to download almost any software you need, free of charge. Their work allows anyone with a computer and an Internet connection to create, which is a wonderful gift. For example, here's the software I use, and I recommend all of it.
Web Browser - Firefox
'Office' Software - OpenOffice.org
Email Tools - Gmail and Thunderbird
RSS Feed - Google Reader
Photo/Image Editor - paint.net
Phote/Image Organizer - Picasa
Firewall - ZoneAlarm
Virus Scanner - Avast
Blogging Software and Hosting - Blogger
Web Site Statistics - StatCounter
Web Authoring Systems - Nvu and DotNetNuke
There are countless other free applications, services and web sites out there, but I don't want to belabor the point. While I think Time Magazine has brought great attention to Web 2.0, I wish the architects had gotten the credit and not the inhabitants.
In selecting 'You' as Person of the Year, Time gives kudos to a lot of forward-thinking individuals who use Web 2.0 for great causes, but they also selected a bunch of folks who blog about nothing of importance - myself included. While I understand the magazine's choice and am awed by the power of Internet (this little blog gets hits from around the world - see image below), I don't think my blog is Person of the Year material.
George Will of The Washington Post wrote a great op-ed regarding the topic, and I agree with much of what he says.
Most bloggers have the private purpose of expressing themselves for their own satisfaction. There is nothing wrong with that, but there is nothing demanding or especially admirable about it, either. They do it successfully because there is nothing singular about it, and each is the judge of his or her own success.It's important for me to reiterate, however, that many people use Web 2.0 for great purposes. Wikipedia, for example, is an amazing tool and is the Internet at its best. While its content is not 100% accurate, it allows anyone and everyone to contribute, which creates a sense of community and, for nerdy people, pride. But, I think the site's developers deserve the credit, as they were the ones that let us contribute.
And, in addition to the Web 2.0 innovators, the open source guys deserve some credit, as they allow you to download almost any software you need, free of charge. Their work allows anyone with a computer and an Internet connection to create, which is a wonderful gift. For example, here's the software I use, and I recommend all of it.
Web Browser - Firefox
'Office' Software - OpenOffice.org
Email Tools - Gmail and Thunderbird
RSS Feed - Google Reader
Photo/Image Editor - paint.net
Phote/Image Organizer - Picasa
Firewall - ZoneAlarm
Virus Scanner - Avast
Blogging Software and Hosting - Blogger
Web Site Statistics - StatCounter
Web Authoring Systems - Nvu and DotNetNuke
There are countless other free applications, services and web sites out there, but I don't want to belabor the point. While I think Time Magazine has brought great attention to Web 2.0, I wish the architects had gotten the credit and not the inhabitants.
