Curry 2.0

I’m in the middle of reading and reviewing two books on the web 2.0 world: Don Tapscott’s Grown up Digital, about the net generation and Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom(Fraser and Dutta), which focuses on social media. At the same time, I’m experimenting with Twitter (and finding it a little less exciting than Stephanie Sullivan who recently accepted Greg Rewis’ proposal of marriage over the medium).

And next week I’m meeting up with someone I haven’t seen in over 20 years, thanks to Facebook. We’d lost touch, but he got in touch, from Moscow, and the result is a curry with him in London on Monday night.

All the books and buzz around web 2.0 want us to believe that everything is changing fundamentally as a result of interactive technology in general and online social networking in particular, but I’m less sure.

It’s important, of course, but to say web 2.0 is fundamentally altering the way the world works is to underestimate so much that we take for granted. Why would I meet up with my old mate for a curry? It’s not because of Facebook. That was just a tool that put us back in touch, and true social interaction is a lot more complex than simply being in touch.

More distilled thoughts after Christmas when the reviews come out.