Architecture and Public Policy

The Rise of Participation Culture reports and summarizes a number of trends and explains "why the Internet and a new wave of Web applications have been embraced by a tech-savvy generation and spawned a culture of participation". Steve Borsch does a thoughtful job of reviewing (albeit at a high level) a number of aspects of the new web (or Web 2.0, the LiveWeb, NextGenWeb, or whatever else we want to call it) in three broad categories: Internet as Platform, Participation Applications and People. (Also available from Borsch's blog, Connecting the Dots.) This report hits all the highlights and is worth a read if you're looking for the big picture... you know, that proverbial forest through the trees.