Cyberinfrastructure and Web 2.0

I've been thinking a lot about comparisons these days and I've long hoped to write something interesting about the following concepts and technologies, but I've never carved out the time.

• OAI-PMH and RSS
• Semantic Web and Microformats
• Shibboleth and OpenID
• Cyberinfrastructure and Web 2.0

I've given up any aspirations of writing something meaningful before the start of 2008, but I thought some observations might be interesting to jot down and share with the community. I guess I'll start with Cyberinfrastructure and Web 2.0

I think the two share many similar properties. In each case, the terms were coined by influential players in the field, but the definitions seem to shrink or expand based on who you talk to. In both cases, the introduction of the terms have served as a catalyst of sorts that seemed to have sharpened interest and discussion in a range of activities. In both cases, the underlying technologies supporting the phenomena existed before the terms were coined.

In the case of Web 2.0, we observed lots of people trying to make sense of what it is and how it applies to them. It created a new wave of buzz among venture capitalists looking for the next big thing. Cyberinfrastructure, meanwhile, seems to have many of the same characteristics, but on a much smaller scale ... a microcosm of what happened with Web 2.0. Variations on the scale and scope of cyberinfrastructure abound ... and just like entrepreneurs in the private sector, it seems we have a range of folks jocking for position in a period where everyone seems to sense that this could be a pivotal time. Is this good or bad for higher education? I don't know, but it will be interesting to see how it evolves.

I also wish I could compare and contrast the social and economic impacts of each of these concepts, but I have neither the time nor ability to do so. Still, I wonder if any efforts are underway to track this for either cyberinfrastructure or Web 2.0.

I've done my share of reading about cyberinfrastructure, but I still can't quite wrap my head around exactly what it is and how or why it emerged as a buzzword dejure. This is very similar to how I felt in the early days of Web 2.0. Over the next year or two, I'm hoping that I'll develop a more coherent view of what cyberinfrastructure is and why it is important. For now, it's fun to watch this thing evolve.

I'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts on this front. How do you think this is going to evolve. Are my comparisons off base or on par with what you're observing? I'd love to hear from folks more knowledgeable than I.