The Web is Us/ing Us

In his video titled "The Web is Us/ing Us," Professor Wesch of Kansas State University acknowledges how the web has changed over the years to adapt to our technologically changing culture. While he effectively points out differences in the web of yesterday vs. the web of today, I find his most thought-provoking statement to be at the end of the short video clip, where he suggests that we are the web and that the web itself uses us as it grows and evolves.

Chapter One of Courtney's Library 2.0 and Beyond is devoted to this idea as it introduces the concept of Web 2.0 as the increasingly interactive and user-based Internet. Though there is debate regarding the actual significance of Web 2.0, we can see in the text how Wesch's concept of "The Web is Us/ing Us" is supported by how we as users interact with and ultimately change the web that we use so purposefully.

By stating that "the web is us," we understand that the web is not a static entity; rather, it is a growing organism spurred on by its own users. Because the content on the web comes from us and not out of thin air, it is fair to say that people, in essence, are what make up the web, regardless of the format (technology, digital text, hyperlinks, etc.). Though the web is not face-to-face interaction (though now we can achieve face-to-face interaction through the web), it is still built and maintained by the people that use it. Tim Burners-Lee says, "The idea of the Web as interaction between people is really what the Web is. That was what it was designed to be as a collaborative space where people can interact" (p. 3). The Web is not a network of computers, but rather a network of people behind those computers and websites. Ever-increasing collaborative sites and pages allow for more and more people to contribute to the content of the web and also help to refine the information that is presented.

The idea that "the web is using us" is also a valid concept, though not in a parasitic way as the title first implies. Wesch points out that the web uses us to increase its information stores and to make connections between content. Each time a website is searched and chosen, web browsers take note of that connection and it will come up again. The Web depends on us to provide more information, create new websites, make new links, and create new ways of meeting the needs of the users. As our needs change and increase, the web adapts to meet those needs. In Courtney's chapter one, we are challenged with the idea that the increasing theme of Web use is self-service. Users create sites and connections on the web that help to best meet our own needs. Without this human imput and interaction, the web would not be a dynamic force that changes with its users.

While first intimidated by the title of this video, I now see why Wesch gave the clip this title. It is evident that, as intricate and widespread as the Web is, it starts with people and grows and improves by people. The Web cannot stand on its own without the input and work of the people that it serves. The Web is, in fact, us, and it is using us every time we use it.