BMJ  2006;333:1283-1284 (23 December), doi:10.1136/bmj.39062.555405.80

Editorials

How Web 2.0 is changing medicine

Is a medical wikipedia the next step?

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Few concepts in information technology create more confusion than Web 2.0. The truth is that Web 2.0 is a difficult term to define, even for web experts.¹ Nebulous phrases like "the web as platform" and "architecture of participation" are often used to describe Web 2.0. Medical librarians suggest that rather than intrinsic benefits of the platform itself, it's the spirit of open sharing and collaboration that is paramount.² The more we use, share, and exchange information on the web in a continual loop of analysis and refinement, the more open and creative the platform becomes; hence, the more useful it is in our work.

What seems clear is that Web 2.0 brings people together in a more dynamic, interactive space. This new generation of internet services and devices—often referred to as social software—can be leveraged to enrich our web experience, as information is continually requested, consumed, and reinterpreted. The new . . . [Full text of this article]

¹ University of British Columbia Biomedical Branch Library, Diamond Health Care Centre and Vancouver Hospital, BC, Canada V5Z 1M9

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Rapid Responses:

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Hurrah for Web 2.0

Hope Leman
bmj.com, 22 Dec 2006 [Full text]

Less technology than use

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bmj.com, 25 Dec 2006 [Full text]

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Wiki and 'Healthcare Information For All by 2015'

Neil M Pakenham-Walsh
bmj.com, 31 Dec 2006 [Full text]

Web 2.0 is really web as a database

Arindam Basu
bmj.com, 2 Jan 2007 [Full text]

Re: Web 2.0 is really web as a database

Jeffrey I Ellis
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Medicine 2.0

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