In 1999, contributing information and content online required a specialized skill set.  A person had to know HTML, or a Web page editor, had to know how to FTP, and had to have a server, or rent space on a server.  In 2007, those skills are no longer necessary--everyone can contribute content in a matter of minutes.  In 2007, everyone can contribute, everyone can participate.

The tools of Web 2.0 (sometimes referred as the Read/Write Web) make all this possible.  Almost all of these tools promote social networking, and are characterized by being realitively easy to acquire and use, thereby promoting individual contribution to a larger social network.  These tools include, but are not limited to:

• Blogs
• Wikis
• Social bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us and Furl
• Flickr
• Podcasting
• Aggregators such as Bloglines.com or Google Reader

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