ABSTRACT
In his exposition on Web 2.0, O’Reilly (2005b) emphasized openness as a key characteristic. is ranged from using open source soware to develop Web 2.0 services, to the role of mass participation in the development of online resources such as Wikipedia. He also outlined the sharp contrast between the open ways of working through the Web as Platform concept (using open standards, protocols and soware) compared to the ‘closed’ world of the centralised, monolithic, proprietary operating system. From this point of view, Web 2.0 practices such as involving users in the development of the soware (made possible by the perpetual beta development cycle) and providing services that are free of charge can also be presented as badges of openness: users are being treated in an ‘open’ way and the product is also being developed in the open.
