Filed under: Journalism, Social Networks, distribution | Tags: activism, blogs, conference, re:publica08, web2.0, wikis
Last week I attended re:publica08, a conference on the cultural and social aspects of Web 2.0. The theme of the conference was “Critical Mass – cultural and social aspects of the networked society”.
The talks, panels and workshops at the conference addressed the social and cultural impact of blogs, wikis, and social networks. It gave me an opportunity to immerse myself into the world of net activism and to engage in some of the debates surrounding the social implications of Web 2.0.
My overall impression was that there are an awful lot of idealistic people out there. Maybe I’m just a cynic, but I’ve yet to be convinced that blogs and social networks will change the world. To make it clear though, I really do hope these people have got it right; I think I’m just a “questioning” type of person, and ultimately it’s by testing and questioning that we learn.
Over the next couple of days I’ll use the talks and workshops I attended as the basis for my first blogs. (And yes, I understand the irony in writing a blog that questions the impact of blogs).
