Are Web 2.0 and Internet Interaction Becoming Obsolete?
Originally posted January 22, 2013.
When can a researcher detect the end of a trend? The concept of “Web 2.0″, focusing on the web as an interactive space between users rather than the straightforward providing of information, continues to dominate much of Internet thought. Companies have rushed to provide users with many different options to interact with or co-create for the company. But, a variety of other trends seem to indicate that less interactivity is on its way. A few examples:
1) Option overload. As interactivity has become more important, the tools and options have also improved and increased. Forget the comment section of yesteryear: now there are polls, forms, and platforms. But the satire in The Onion points out that many customers feel overwhelmed. Interactivity has gone from special sauce to main course, and that doesn’t match the priorities of many users. From an operations perspective, expanding options should result in better solutions: but in practice, users become overwhelmed and can’t take full advantage of the extra options.
2. Rise of mobile and tablet computing. Interaction requires the user to be able to quickly and easily navigate a text input device. This prerequisite is at times under-appreciated. (I would love to see statistics on how many Internet users fail to interact as much simply because of their inadequate typing skills). Mobile phones and tablets are accounting for an increasing amount of Internet traffic, yet it can be difficult to type a more lengthy, meaningful comment on such devices, or even to take a survey. The frustrated user will thus decline interaction opportunities.
3. Rewards for Interactivity versus Content Creation. Suppose that you excel in creating animated GIF’s. You could use that skill to make art in your favorite blog’s comment section, thus getting some approval from other readers or the blog writer. Or, you could start your own blog. Given the improvement of services such as Google Adsense or Youtube Partnership to market and monetize your blog, the jump from participating in a conversation to hosting it is a small one. Also, users are more aware that companies are profiting from their interactivity, and thus will demand more for the (dubious) privilege.
4. Misfit between Interaction Technology and Interaction Utility.
Reader, when was the last time you truly were impressed by the design of an interaction opportunity? Good interaction design shows the user the value of interaction before they interact, not after or never. Early adopters try a new technology just for variety’s sake. But to hold the attention of mainstream (early majority and late majority) customers, interaction technology has to bridge the gap between novelty and necessity.
In the end, I have more questions than answers for you. If I and others are correct, what will the less interactive Internet look like? Will it be dominated by design, and attempt to gain user information more by indirect rather than direct means? In a social welfare sense, is a less interactive Internet less optimal? Share your thoughts on interactivity…or in keeping with the post, explain why you would rather not interact.
I am another operations research person, and found you via Paul Rubin.
In your post, you said, “Mobile phones and tablets are accounting for an increasing amount of Internet traffic”. This is true, and it is generally heralded as a triumph of newer, better technology over older (“older” being PCs). I don’t think this is true, that PCs are older, less modern tech. In fact, I think that it is incredibly irresponsible and misinformed that government and schools push conversion to mobile devices as so important for technological literacy. In fact, tablets and smartphones are just like little toys. Smartphones allow you to make phone calls while away from your PC or desk, but that is their only real functionality. A technologically literate public needs to know how to use PCs or client-server through desktop/laptop computing. Unfortunately, no one but me seems to think that is true. The promise of Web 2.0 and internet interactivity cannot be realized, and yes, will die out, if we continue to focus on mobile devices with limited means of text input and interaction.
Notice how few comments you have on your blog? The same is true for me. The one comment that you did have, on the use of technology in the classroom, was so incoherent that I couldn’t understand it (something about democracy and choice in the classroom… maybe). I used to get quite a few comments on my blog posts and interactions on Google+ as of 2010 to 2012. Now there is much less.
This is a long, ranty comment 🙂 You have a nice blog, and my rant is not directed at you!
Ellie, I very much agree with you that mobile is much less productive than it gets credit for. For example, I hear how mobile users make much greater use of Twitter. But Twitter is as simple as it gets for publishing/producing content. I can only do a blog post on a PC. It’s just uncomfortable to type that much text into mobile/tablet, for now. (I’ve heard good things about the Surface tablet, but I don’t think it’s popular enough yet to count). It’s a bit of a shame, as I feel some of the high-communication, high-creation promise of Web 2.0 is gone now. I hope the trend reverses itself, or perhaps that voice-transcription software improves enough that one can produce more content on mobile/tablets. Thanks for the thoughts!