It's all about me

The internet known today is known for many things. You can find anything you need with a touch of a button online. Whether it is that perfect mother’s day present for your mom or any type of information you are looking for, it is inevitable you will find it online. The thing about the information now and days is that you don’t know who posted it. Anyone can log on and post just about anything online. In “It’s All about Us” Steven Johnson states, “Web 2.0 is made up of ordinary people: hobbyists, diarist, armchair pundits, people adding their voice to the Web’s great evolving conversation for the sheer love of it “(446). In this you think about the celebrity bloggers like Perez Hilton, telling the public about the most intimate secrets of the celebrities today, or the people telling about their daily lives on Facebook or Myspace. People now have a say what is being put on the internet
He stated that in Web 1.0 it was organized around the pages and now it moved towards us, the people. Even information pages such as Wikipedia regular people can go in and right about historical events, people places, even though most schools or teachers don’t accept it as a source, it could be known for a reliable source. Like in the article It states “Bloggers and Wikipedians are likely to do some things better than their professionals” (447.) Even though this website is done by regular people that it could possibly be better than something an expert could write, it could give us a different perspective that the professional didn’t think of.
Johnson helped create something that monitored conversations that took place online about the neighborhoods around the country. This he monitored what people were saying in regards to their own personal communities. He looked at what was directly affecting the people. This service was called “outside.in”. From this people told what was actually going on in their own community, instead of media coverage, or lack thereof. The media only covers what people want to hear, like a puppy being saved from a burning building. It doesn’t really care about the issues of the people. From this I feel is helpful because it is helping the people actually get out their own opinions, and the real information is coming out. Not just the “sugar-coated” news coverage stories.
The internet could be a great source if used properly. One has to be careful where they find their information, or who they are hearing it from. Weither it is an actual professional or just in the grasps of the “placebloggers”, there needs to be some sort of filter (448). But it could also be helpful when encountering your own problems that you need to get out there and let everyone know.