2.0nd Blog Post

After watching this video, I learned a lot about how computers work and how information is transmitted through the Internet. I believe the title is sort of saying that we are the machine, especially how he has it as "The Machine is Us/ing Us". The use of the backslash makes the title appear to be "The Machine is Us", saying that we are what makes up the Internet now. We are what makes the Internet thrive, and without all of our new content that we add daily, Web 2.0 probably would not exist.
People that are trying to enter the workforce nowadays have a lot more information about themselves on the web. Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace have allowed people to share a lot of information that they might have kept to themselves. Posting pictures, favorite things, and the such help employers get a better idea of potential employees, and could be detrimental to the employee's chances. But, Web 2.0 can also be beneficial to people who are looking for a job. Through the use of YouTube, potential musicians, comedians, and film students can "strut their stuff" and showcase their skills.
Now for people that are already in the workforce, Web 2.0 can also be detrimental and beneficial. It can be detrimental in some of the same ways as listed above with Facebook and MySpace. If their employer finds lewd, obscene, or drunk pictures, or negative statements about their company, the employer might then talk with the employee, and could possibly lead to actions being taken. Web 2.0 can also be beneficial to current employees by providing tons and tons of information that could help an employee solve a problem. By using Google, Wikipedia, or similar sites, employees can search for almost anything and find a good amount of information about almost any subject.
I think when it says we need to "rethink everything", the video is trying to prove how far we have come in a limited amount of time. The way we communicate has been completely reinvented, starting with cell phones, to email, to instant messaging, and now social networking sites and blogs. All of these forms of communication have led to less and less face-to-face communication, which can become very detrimental to human relationships. More and more we are relying on the computer to communicate for us and thus taking out the human connection we have with each other. I think if we continue to use more and more technology to communicate, we will soon be out of touch with each other and we will no longer interact the way we do now. Human interaction has greatly declined, and although I believe it will not completely disappear, interaction will be very minimal.
Web 2.0 is great for giving ordinary people an opportunity to express themselves in numerous ways. Through sharing views in blogs, sharing pictures and information through social networking sites, to showing skills on YouTube, Web 2.0 has become a cornucopia of information and has given many opportunities to common people like you and me.