When, a decade ago, the term Web 2.0 entered our lexicon, we were still collectively dreaming of a vision of cyberspace where no government dared enter, a cyberspace ‘naturally independent of the tyrannies’ of regulation and law enforcement.1 This space, as we imagined it, would be the great equalizer, opening up closed societies and connecting us with kindred spirits the world over.
These dreams combined with the dreams of Silicon Valley magnates to create large-scale centralized platforms where all could gather. Within two years of the popularization of Web 2.0, we could look up our friends on Facebook, post our creative endeavours to YouTube, and Tweet whatever we were thinking. These slick corporate platforms rapidly replaced the spaces where we’d previously gathered, promising in bright colours a ‘free’ product with features beyond our wildest imaginations.
