Review of the Top Web 2.0 Sites

Twitter
"What's happening?" is the question to answer... in 140 characters or less! Twitter provides real-time updates from your followers, and posts can range from the simple ("Man, I hate Mondays!") or up-to-the-minute-breaking-news (For instance, I found out about the Tsunami in Japan via Twitter.) It's overall purpose is to provide a "newsfeed" (to borrow the term from Facebook) and tailor information to your tastes and interests. Twitter expands across demographics! Everyone has one. The beauty of Twitter is that it is what you make it. Businesses can use it, politicians use it... Even the Pope has a Twitter account. Twitter was started in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone, and Noah Glass (not Ashton Kutcher). Founder Jack Dorsey has the important place in history of sending the first ever tweet: 9:50 PM Mar 21st, 2006 from web: "just setting up my twttr" (The First Ever Email). He also didn't have to obsess over the perfect handle, as his is (or was, at the time) @jack. I use twitter both personally and professionally. I have a personal Twitter account (@marleyems) where I typically post things that generally annoy me... I mostly use my personal Twitter account to follow celebrities and public figures. (One time, in college, Neil Patrick Harris tweeted me at my old handle. It was one of the best days ever.) I've been a Twitter user since 2007, but didn't really start tweeting until 2009. My original Twitter account has been deleted because it was just the rantings of a college student. I have a professional Twitter account (@msmarlerteaches) that I typically use for Twitter in Education presentations. I also had a Twitter account for my English classes, where I would post reminders about assignments, answer questions, and give bonus quizzes. You can find Twitter here. 

YouTube
Andy Warhol once said, "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes." Boy, was he right. YouTube is an online video streaming and sharing website. Whatever you're looking for, you can find it on YouTube. Most recently, I used YouTube to watch a video on how to repair vinyl siding, and then I followed that up by watching this YouTube video on puppies learning to howl.  Much like Twitter, anyone can use YouTube. I have only created three videos on YouTube (you can watch them here), but many people have found fame and fortune through YouTube. (Have you heard of Justin Bieber? He was discovered through YouTube!) I mainly use YouTube to watch videos and procrastinate, and I would argue that's what many people use YouTube for. You can create playlists (I have a playlist dedicated to 90's boy band music videos, and I frequently dance to them.) YouTube was founded in 2005 by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim. Google purchased the site in 2006. YouTubers use the site both personally and professionally, with personal "vlogs" (video blogs). Many companies use YouTube videos to post tutorials or reviews of products, as well. As an educator, you could post your lectures online so students could have easy access outside of school. You can find YouTube here. 

Flickr
Flickr (pronounced "flicker") is a photo and video hosting site. Users can upload pictures to flickr to share with other users, or they can also create private albums. Flickr appeals to every demographic, similar to the last two sites. Initially launched in 2004 by Ludicorp, Flickr was acquired by Yahoo in 2005. Flickr allows users to create their own "homepage" to post their pictures, sort of like a picture blog. You could use this site to post family or personal pictures, or you could tailor it to suit your professional needs. For example, a real estate agent could use Flickr to post pictures of homes that are for sale, or a house flipper could post before and after shots of house renovations. You can access Flickr here.

Wikipedia
I'm sure every student has been told that "Wikipedia is not a valid source... but it's a great place to start looking for information!" Wikipedia is a (free) collaborative encyclopedia. The key word here is collaboration, because people from across the world edit the pages of Wikipedia. Wikipedia provides links to other pages within each article, so you are never far from information, and just about everything has a Wikipedia page. (Click here to see an example, my boyfriend's squadron has a Wikipedia page!) Since it is free and open to the public, anyone can use Wikipedia, and anyone can edit a post. Wikipedia began in 2001 and was launched by James Wales and Larry Sanger. I personally use Wikipedia to get quick information about a subject (it's always the first thing that comes up in a google search). For professional use, you could create a Wikipedia page about your business, or you could also use some of the works cited on particular Wikipedia pages for research. Wikipedia can be found here.

Jing
Jing is a software platform that allows you to capture your computer screen and create videos. I found out about Jing last year through my cooperating teacher, and she uses it to give video feedback on student papers. It is not a website. You have to download the software to your computer! But it is user-friendly, and definitely targeted to professionals. Jing began in 2007 and was launched by TechSmith Corporation. You can download Jing here.

Slideshare
Slide Share is exactly how it sounds... it's a slide sharing service. Users can upload a variety of slides (thing PowerPoint or Keynote) to the website and share them publicly or privately. (It's the slideshow equivalent of YouTube.) While Slideshare is available to everyone, it is probably directly targeted at the presentation demographic... Students, business professionals, teachers, etc. It's easy to use, and great for test reviews. Slide Share was founded by Rashmi Sinha in 2006. I used it throughout college to study for exams or view slide shows on particular subjects that pertained to my lectures, and while I have not used it professionally, I do know many teachers that upload their slides to the site so students can view them outside of class. You can visit Slideshare here. 

Wordle
Words on words on words! Do you need a visually appealing way to display words? Wordle is the place to go! I love using Wordle to teach Mood, and let students type in different words to describe a particular emotion. Users type in words (any words, really) and Wordle produces a word cloud. Launched in 2008 by Jonathan Feinberg, the site really gives new meaning to the phrase "Language Arts" You can use Wordle personally to create binder covers, or even wall hangings. Professionally, you could use it on your blog to create a tag cloud. User demographics vary, but judging from the examples on the site's home page, I would say it is generally used by students. You can find Wordle here. 

MuseumBox
This is the only site on this list that I am unfamiliar with! I spent about 20 minutes playing around with it, and after watching the intro video the best thing I can liken it to is Pinterest... but for history! Users create a "box" and each box consists of Cubes. Each cube is dedicated to one particular part of your argument or research. I would think this could be a really cool alternative to paper writing. Obviously, every paper should have a thesis, which is what your box would be trying to prove. Each "paragraph" would become a cube that would hold your evidence! Part of me wishes I had more uses for this, because it's actually a really great way to "write" a paper! MuseumBox is free and open to everybody, but judging by the fact that not many people's professions require them to create historically based arguments, I would say the target audience would consist of students and historians.