Over the past couple of weeks I have had several conversations with co-workers and fellow geeks that I am personal friends with. That might not sound that unusual, but when you consider that, on more than several occasions I have had to explain the concept of Twitter, Digg, Mahalo, and other Web 2.0 companies and ideas, it starts to make sense why I bring this up.
You see, I am a blogger and an internet user. I read RSS feeds, I Twitter, I Digg, del.icio.us, and even submit links to Mahalo. I have a life stream on Jaiku and on FriendFeed. So when it comes to Web 2.0 companies, I like to think that I am in the know. My day job is IT consulting and I work with other consultants. I assume (and wrongfully) that these people are up on these technologies. I figure, they understand. It amazes me that people who have a job that requires to them to be "in the know" on the latest technology do not know what Twitter is. I can understand not "getting it" because a lot of people don’t but some of these folks have never even heard of the service or several other Web 2.0 companies.
I guess there is some element of non-shock over this, everyone can’t possibly know about everything. Even iJustine encountered something similar at SXSW Music, just on a much larger scale due to the large non-tech participants. It is interesting that with all the new startups coming out that there are people in the "industry" that are not aware yet. I guess there is some form of Web 2.0 minority in place. People like Robert Scoble, Michael Arrington, and even Kevin Rose are part of new "tech elite" that has defined (at least to some degree) a group of folks that are "in-the-know" on these new technologies and emerging startups. This group decides what sites live and die just by using the service.
Am I wrong? Is there not a Web 2.0 minority? I really get the feeling that there is sometimes. Maybe this experience is just limited to me. Has anyone else experienced the blank stare of "I have no idea what you are talking about" when mentioning something like Pownce or Magnolia?
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Michael Koby 
The Web 2.0 Minority
Over the past couple of weeks I have had several conversations with co-workers and fellow geeks that I am personal friends with. That might not sound that unusual, but when you consider that, on more than several occasions I have had to explain the concept of Twitter, Digg, Mahalo, and other Web 2.0 companies and ideas, it starts to make sense why I bring this up.
You see, I am a blogger and an internet user. I read RSS feeds, I Twitter, I Digg, del.icio.us, and even submit links to Mahalo. I have a life stream on Jaiku and on FriendFeed. So when it comes to Web 2.0 companies, I like to think that I am in the know. My day job is IT consulting and I work with other consultants. I assume (and wrongfully) that these people are up on these technologies. I figure, they understand. It amazes me that people who have a job that requires to them to be "in the know" on the latest technology do not know what Twitter is. I can understand not "getting it" because a lot of people don’t but some of these folks have never even heard of the service or several other Web 2.0 companies.
I guess there is some element of non-shock over this, everyone can’t possibly know about everything. Even iJustine encountered something similar at SXSW Music, just on a much larger scale due to the large non-tech participants. It is interesting that with all the new startups coming out that there are people in the "industry" that are not aware yet. I guess there is some form of Web 2.0 minority in place. People like Robert Scoble, Michael Arrington, and even Kevin Rose are part of new "tech elite" that has defined (at least to some degree) a group of folks that are "in-the-know" on these new technologies and emerging startups. This group decides what sites live and die just by using the service.
Am I wrong? Is there not a Web 2.0 minority? I really get the feeling that there is sometimes. Maybe this experience is just limited to me. Has anyone else experienced the blank stare of "I have no idea what you are talking about" when mentioning something like Pownce or Magnolia?
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