Web 2.0 is a broadly defined and, depending on whom you ask, contentious term that describes a more participatory and interactive web experience (Murugesan, 2007). In theory, Web 2.0 tools were created to encourage collaboration, provide users with the tools to customize their web experience, and establish social networks (Murugesan, 2007).

Second Life (SL) is a “large-scale virtual world” for creating social networks (Macedonia, 2007). Specifically, SL is a type of Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) in which users can interact with each other and the environment using avatars. Avatars are how residents of SL represent themselves to others and their design is limited only by the imagination of their creator.



A number of publishers (Second Nature), government agencies (the CDC, NASA, and NOAA), and educational institutions have a presence on SL. In particular, the Second Nature island contains presentations from SciFoo, an annual, interdisciplinary unconference organized by Nature Publishing Group, O'Reilly Media, and Google (Nature Publishing Group, 2007).







Additionally, while at Second Nature, one can explore Genetic Resources, browse the Human Genome,



or jump inside a Eukaryotic Cell.

If you have any comments or questions about how government agencies and libraries are using Web 2.0, please give us your feedback.

References

1. Macedonia, M. (2007). Generation 3D: Living in Virtual Worlds. Computer, 40(10), 99-101.
2. Murugesan, S. (2007). Understanding Web 2.0. IT Professional, 9(4), 34-41.
3. Nature Publishing Group (2007). SciFoo Camp. Retrieved March 1, 2008, from http://www.nature.com/nature/meetings/scifoo/index.html

Contributors: Doug Joubert (Real Life) and Doujou Joubert (Second Life).

This is the first in a series of occasional articles on Web 2.0 and emerging technologies relevant to the needs of NIH researchers.

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