This article does a great job of explaining the progression of Web 2.0 software apps and the various uses that they are attached to. Having being born in the 60’s at the cusp of of the end of being labeled a “baby boomer” I recall what social networking was like for me. In school it involved passing notes when I wanted to get in on the daily gossip. On the playground it was listening to stories kids told about their weekends or about their older siblings adventures. At home it was listening to radio, watching tv or even getting a chance to talk to someone on the rotary phone. (ouch)… Very seldom did we get any mail except for bills of course and a random postcard from family. I lived in a rural farming community in the panhandle of North Central Texas and I was as remote as one could get. Take that similar situation today and I can see why social networking has been taken to the next level. With the explosion of computing (after much delay) we now have a gigantic selection of ways to communicate and share our daily lives. Now I don’t know about you but I don’t everyone to know everything about my daily life , but I will share and communicate about events that are related to work or education. Now what was interesting about this article is that just like apps for the iPod there are just about any type of social software apps for social networking. I do find the social aspect of communicating a bit overwhelming and to intrusive but that might be a generational thing. What I would like to do more research on is finding social software apps for education that would produce postive results in learning.
Instructional Design Perspectives 
What did you think of the questions at the end of the article. Can any of them be applied to your work environment? (See Don Fisher’s blog on that.)
Here’s an additional question — how do these web 2.0 apps fit in with your ideas about learning?
KC,
What I feel is applicable to use in any institution of higer education is the tool, application, platform or simialr web programs that will promote the engagement of its students, staff, administration. Because I believe that social-contructivism is a relevant theory in online learning I believe that the learner shoud have as much use of web applications to inherit knowledge. Whether it is authenticated to use as approved material for learning will have to be left up to the powers that be. I can see where the lines can be crossed when it comes to sharing because we know that students by nature will push the envelope. I mean isn’t that what students get taught today to be inquisitive?