Web 2.0 at 2 AM

I have not posted to my little blog here in some time and at the behest of my great friend Mig, I thought I would relate some thoughts for my friends and collaborators. I have had the great pleasure and privilege of writing for ReadWriteWeb these last several weeks. The task has been both rewarding and challenging, and my good friends have been so very helpful.

The most interesting thing happened the other night as I was pondering these last 7 months as a blogger. I expect we all have late nights where we either ponder our own relative insignificance and sometimes our value to ourselves and those we interact with. On this particular night I was feeling rather more on the tail end of things and was very tired from having tested several applications for review. I was actually pondering bidding a fond farewell and moving to the 2007 equivalent of "Green Acres" when I saw my little mail notifier pop up.

To make one of my long stories short, I opened the note to find a very uplifting message from a prominent and respected member of our world community. This person is one of those that possesses what I call "the true spirit of excellence", and one who ultimately will contribute substantially to web development for years to come. The name is not important, but the essence of this particular contact was what struck me as 'symbolic" of all our desired or shared visions of Web 2.0.

The note simply thanked me for essentially being kind and honest about something rather simple to recognize for me. The interesting and "familiar" aspect of this discourse (which it became as we sat at our relative consoles and emailed back and forth) became apparent only after the interaction had ended. Here we were emailing messages back and forth - the creator of some of the most sophisticated technology in the world emailing someone who tests innovations light years ahead of anything possible a decade ago. It was a surreal moment on Web 2.0 at 2 AM. No IM, drag and drop, streaming video or even a chat window - just two people relatively spent at the end of a long day.

I know, you are saying; "Phil has gone all sentimental or goofy on us", but if you think about it this is why we are here. Web 2.0 is not about the technology or the money in the end (sure some people think it is because all they think about it money), but it is about people collaborating and validating other people. In this way, and only in this way, are we led to a state of higher values and goals. Sure we are "stimulated" or "assisted" by the innovation and technology - but in the end it is what we value that makes this version of the web mean something.

These types of communications and moments where we are just human are the ones we appreciate most. These ethereal connections often made over thousands of miles between people who seemingly have little in common. We find though that quite often we have much more in common than we realize. This is particularly true when people share deep considerations or ideas whatever the subject matter. A CEO of a great company sits at a desk atop some skyscraper and relates "human" thoughts and expression to another person in the woods with only a strand of cable wire connecting them to what most would consider civilization.

So here we are, all of us in the same boat - so often at odds with one another - and yet we are now linked (digitally yes) but never the less linked to our fellow man. This kind of thing gives us hope, this is why we come back here to our little machines. We don't realize it fully, but we are on the threshold of actually "knowing" and helping on a level we once just dreamed of. It is a slow progression sometimes and we all get mightily frustrated and even pissed much of the time. But if we could just somehow push through to the other side - then teaching, learning, entertainment, business and ultimately understanding could reach a level far beyond what we currently experience. This is why we are here - to understand.

Email on top of starships, fascinating and as appropriate as a campfire. Consideration and kindness are only difficult in situations where neither of these abound. It is amazing how easily we connect even at the end of a hard day or under the most interesting circumstances with our fabulous little Web. Each one of the letters you see was typed (laboriously for those who know me) at 1 AM at the end of a long long day. Consider the person on the other end of that video or business application. This is my humanistic diversion, my user generated content for the puzzle we are trying to complete. recognizing Web 2.0 for what it is may be the first step toward that nebulous vision stuck in all our minds. Human goodness expressed via a fantastic tool toward other people - 21st century conduit for expression and communication. Web 2.0 at 2 AM!