The web we weave

A lot is being said about the whole 2.0 thing. Web 2.0, enterprise 2.0, economy 2.0, all a bit like the cybermen and their upgrades, marching towards people 2.0. Or perhaps that should be 2.0 people.
Anyway, this got me thinking about the web we weave. We have created the web and it's supporting technologies in our image. The behaviors, the expectations and inadequacies. In the same way, the social development taking place in the 2.0 sphere seems to reflect the same.

I recently worked on a project for a major national public transport company. When looking at the user base it was split clear as day down the middle according to one criteria, whether people were internally or externally motivated. Internally motivated people understood and used rail transport because they valued their time, understood the benefits of shared resources and all the other benefits that come with it. Externally motivated people cared more about what others would think and needed the security and status of their metal cocoons to get around. The car had become a social shell which both defined and protected them. They felt less confident being by themselves in this sea of people.
People have an attitude towards public goods based on where they fall on the confidence/insecurity axis. This attitude also drives their engagement with public p2p platforms.

There is an element of this in the web 2.0 evolution. The basic insecurities that define people will remain hidden in the way they embrace and use technology. Their degree of comfort in going naked. Their need for social recognition and ability to invest in the public, rather than personal good. Does this mean the future of the web will still be mired in cliques (or shall we call them clicks?) that use their superior knowledge to bully and intimidate other people. Is web 2.0 a compensation for or shield from personal human interaction? The more people invest in their new space online the less likely they are going to invest in building up face to face relationships. It just becomes too easy to refer someone to your blog. "I've had those ideas already, read my post from 14 April....."
And this brings me to the basic dilemma we now face. The basic human processor has not evolved. The brain is still only capable of presenting the Cartesian theatre, no matter how well our parallel processors and universes are plotting away.

Are we nearing a tipping point where our inventions will start molding us in their likeness? I think so. The web is brutally honest about exposing just how much of your time and energy you are willing to sacrifice on the qwerty altar. It becomes immediately obvious how intensely you serve the webgod "content". Once people realise that their sacrifice is rewarded proportionately and that it comes at a cost the self mutilation and martyrdoms will begin.