How Many Web 2.0 Tools Are Too Many?...

I've been hooked on all things Web 2.0 since even before Tim O'Reilly coined the phrase. Just within my bookmarks on my browser (Firefox, the perfect Web 2.0 browser), I have 85 Web 2.0 tools and applications bookmarked, along with literally hundreds more in my Delicious tags. Those 85 are bookmarked in my browser because I have actually registered with those sites (a common Web 2.0 ploy) in order to try them out and actually used them, at least once. They go from Aviary to Zui Prezi, a compendium of tools and apps that have changed the way I compute. I'm not even counting apps like iTunes and sites like audible.com which have bcome huge parts of my life (and that I consider part of the Web 2.0 space)

You can argue exactly what constitutes a Web 2.0 tool, but in my mind it is anything that pushes information to me or allows me to collaboratively work and share on the Web while using a Web-based interface - the browser as operating system...

My question is how many Web 2.0 tools are too many? Obviously the 85 that I have tried is way too many - besides many of those tools are long gone (have you noticed that another feature of Web 2.0 tools is that the word "Beta" must appear on their Web site somewhere?), Pownce being one of the latest casualties, or been absorbed or morphed by competition. Having tried them as they appear does not mean that they are being used or even useful. Here is a list of the Web 2.0 tools that I use regularly, in no particular order:

1. Blogspot - blogging
2. PBWiki - wiki
3. GMail - mail, chat, video chat, and so much more...
   
4. NetVibes - RSS etc. aggregator
5. Google Docs - office application suite, collaborative groupware and so much more
   
6. Flickr - photos
7. Photobucket - photos
8. Twitter - micro-blogging and social networking
   
9. Delicious - tagging
10. Facebook - social networking
11. LinkedIn - social networking
12. Joost - online video and TV

And I know there are others that I visit on a less regular basis. Not bad - 12 down from 85 - but even with 12, it's become a full time job just keeping up trying to remain a cool Web 2.0 dude. The thing is, do I really need 12 Web 2.0 tools to do what I do on the Web (and what I do is more and more all on the Web, I think my desktop has cobwebs on it...)? I look at that list and it seems all I have done is transferred how I work with desktop apps to Web 2.0 apps - do I need to develop new skills and ways of integrating what I do, or am I looking for that one killer Web 2.0 (or Web 3.0, or Web 4.0...) app that will do it all (and I am becoming more and more convinced that the whole Google Apps/GMail/Google Labs mashup may just become that killer app)? Hmmm...

What Web 2.0 apps are you using and how are you using them? Have they changed the way you get and use information?...

When Social Networks Go Bad...

I am a big believer in the power of social networking and social networks. I am certain that social networks and social software will have a huge impact on education (and already are), along with the way that we communicate. I have already posted on the fact that for most of my personal communication these days I am using less and less e-mail and IM, and more and more social networks, with Facebook and LinkedIn being the two I use the most, with Eduspaces (ELGG) and Bebo being used less. There is also Ning, to which I have been invited and Quechup, to which I was invited to over the weekend and which prompted this post. To add to this list, Wikipedia has a list of Social Networking Web Sites that currently lists 102 different social networking sites. Oh and then there is my favourite social network and the one where I have made many friends and met some of the most interesting people from around the world and around the world - Second Life.

And here is the problem - everyone of these sites, with the possible exception of Ning, which allows you to create your own network (bust you still have to join) are closed systems. It's one of the reason I'm a member of more than one social networking site and why so many exist - the all requires some sort of account setup and membership before you can begin to be even remotely social. It reminds me of the early days of IM where I had an ICQ account, an AIM account, and a Messenger account just so I could chat with everyone.

So - is a social network truly social if it is a closed system? If we have to belong to four or five different sites just to communicate with the people we meet or to share common interests, are we being social, or have we just adopted a new set of silos? What would be wrong with a common interface that would allow you to enter whatever social network that you want to belong too without having to have to log in separately every time. Sort of a Meebo for social networks. Hmmm...

I mentioned Quechup earlier - this past weekend I got an invite to join this social network from a member of a mailing list that I belong too. While I know this person through their online persona, I have not met them except in cyberspace and was somewhat puzzled why they would ask me to join their network. Before I had time to reply, several posts appeared on the mailing list complaining of being spammed by requests to join Quechup. Turns out that by default when you create an account on Quechup it sends out invites to everyone in your e-mail address book. This is something I want control over - it might be a great way to pad the membership numbers, but it is social networking gone bad - let me decide who to invite.

So where are we? Still in our silos that prevent true social interaction online - locked into our networks through logins and proprietary software. If Web 2.0 brought user content and control to the Web, then maybe social networking 2.0 will bring true, open border less social networking to the Web. The next killer app? Hmmm...

(Photo - "Table Brainstorming" - by edmittance)

Wiki-Based Software Guide

This might be one of the best software review sites I have seem - Iterating.com. It's a wiki-based software guide covering open source software (OSS) and commercial software. It's both a directory and a review site and you can filter it based on categories and types of software that you are looking for. Users can review and comment on the software - who better to do that than the actual users. A very cool, practical use of a wiki...