This TechCrunch.com article offers a glimpse of the negative potential of Web 2.0.  JuicyCampus.com, a website which was set up to allow college students to gossip about one another, is under scrutiny.  The content on the site has become ‘mean spirited,’ as students use it to debate which students are child molesters or the sluttiest girls in the school.  The website or its owner, Matt Ivester are immune from any legal action.  I believe this article does show a dark, but very human side to Web 2.0.  Web 2.0 applications allow anybody in the world with access to the internet to make their voice known.  And, there are bound to be some mean people in the world.  There will be mean spirited things on the internet, probably for as long as it exists.  Now that the Web 2.0 era is here, it only makes sense that there will be some applications made with bad intentions.

I read this article on Wired.com, about the potential of the iPhone as a gaming platform.  Apple, according to the article, could use iTunes to download games directly to the device, for a fraction of the normal cost.  This could revolutionize the gaming industry, as games could potentially be sold to millions digitally without the use of discs, packaging, shipping, and game retailers.  I think this article shows how digital technology is slowly creating an online world.  Songs, books, movies, even television shows and now video games can all be bought online.  A person can have a huge library of media in a relatively small computer.  I think these are just signs of what will happen in the future.  As technology advances exponentially, there is no limit to what can be accomplished.

The social networking site Facebook may be on the decline, according to this TechCrunch article.  Over the last few months, the article says, the number of Facebook users in the United States has leveled off, and even dropped in January of this year.  The decline may have been caused by friend spam, or the staggering amount of applications that have been recently created.  Also, Facebook used to be available only to college students, but it has recently been made available to anybody.  This has caused a minor backlash in use among college students, who are fine sharing personal photos and information with their peers but not with people much older or younger.  Worldwide, however, Facebook seems to be doing fine.

I read this article on Yahoo! News, about Microsoft’s ambitious plans to allow amateur game creators to make their games available for play on Xbox Live. This is taking a cue from Web 2.0 applications, such as YouTube, which has built its popularity upon user created content. Microsoft’s decision to allow open-source game distribution is a remarkable shift in the industry, but a logical one. By the end of this year, the company expects the library of Xbox360 games to double, due mainly to user created games. Microsoft is taking the first step in moving the Web 2.0 away from just computer screens, and into console video games.

This article, which I found on ars technica, reports on Intel’s presentation of Tukwila, which will become the largest, fastest microprocessor ever.  It will also be the first microprocessor to have more than two billion transistors.  This article is an example of computer technology’s seemingly infinite progression.  The CPU will be available by the end of next year, but it likely won’t be the most powerful ever produced for long.  Technology continues to improve at staggering rates, and as hardware technology improves there will be more ways for consumers to get involved in the virtual world.

This is a tech-business article I found on ars technica.  It is about Yahoo’s startling denial of Microsoft’s buyout offer, and subsequent turn to NewsCorp.   If  Yahoo were to accept NewsCorp’s bid, the website would get access to MySpace, as well as a number of other web assets owned by Murdoch.  This article is an example of the fact that the internet is not just confined to computers.  Real world business and monetary transactions have been made ever since it was realized that the internet could be made profitable.  Microsoft and NewsCorp, two gigantic corporations, are squabbling over a simple search website, Yahoo.  This is a great example of the vast power wielded by the internet, and it’s future potential.

I read this TechCrunch article, about YouTube’s future initiatives. Projects include a feature called active sharing, which will allow YouTube viewers to signal other users when they are viewing a particular video. Video recommendations, similar to recommendations on sites like Amazon.com, are also in the works. YouTube also plans to break away from the computer screen, and move to televisions and mobile devices. YouTube is obviously planning on expanding its features to allow even more user participation and involvement. This article is a good example of the Web 2.0, and how more companies are placing influence on individual contribution.

I read this article  on ars technica, about the changing face of the contemporary music industry.  The article reflects on how the industry has been hit hard by the major decline in cd sales in recent years.  However, the article is hopeful for the future.  Last year, more music was sold digitally than ever before.  Further, sales of digital singles bring in almost as much revenue as digital album sales.  This article presents a good summary of an industry facing major change in today’s high-technology world.

I read this Wired.com article, about virtual deviants who terrorize social gaming networks. Calling themselves “griefers,” these people spend most of their time making online gaming miserable for others. Acts of digital terrorism by griefers include destroying and defacing areas in Second Life, a popular social online game. Once, a group of these gamers sent a parade of phalluses through an interview being broadcast throughout the Second Life world. The article does a good job of illustrating the fact that the line between real and virtual life is becoming more and more blurred. While most of the pranks pulled by griefers are just a nuisance at worst, sometimes real monetary damage can be caused. For example, spaceships bought with real world money on the massively multiplayer game EVE online, can be destroyed systematically by griefers, ruining the gaming experience and effectively taking money from the pockets of certain users. The contemporary world is beginning to deal with issues brought about by the increasing pervasiveness of the virtual world, and the blurring division between real and virtual reality. I believe this article reflects this fact well.