The relationship of Web2.0 technologies and information behavior

樊懿

Abstract：This paper discussed how Web 2.0 technologies relate to humans information behavior. Firstly， an overview of information behavior is given by previous studies， meanwhile， which has found differences between information seeking and information searching. While featured web2.0-based tools improve users communication experience， especially reflecting on information seeking and information sharing. It is possible that web 2.0 applications provide an interactive platform to promote humans information behavior effectively.

Keywords：Web 2.0；information behavior；information seeking；information sharing

Web 2.0 technologies as the advanced and up-to-date technical infrastructure to enhance the flow of information arouse interests to many researchers and practitioners. Depending on the usage of web2.0 technologies in a wide range of areas，which illustrates the sophisticated relations between human and information and communication technology. The application of web2.0 sparked the revolution of traditional communication pattern. This paper presents information behaviors briefly and distinguishes information seeking and information searching mainly in the first section. The second part will introduce different types of web2.0 applications. And then， the third section shows relations between web2.0 technology and information behavior. Finally， the conclusion is summarized in the forth section.

1. Information seeking behavior

Many studies of information behavior have investigated the phenomenon of the interaction between human and information. Wilson（2000）defines information behavior as total human activities， including information seeking， searching and useing； but it may not cover all circumstances in information behavior. In 2011， Pilerot and Limberg found that information sharing is difficult to isolate from other activities， in particular intertwines with information seeking and using. As technology transforms rapidly， information sharing has been taken seriously in studying information activities， especially when it happened in online. In contrast， the latter study has considered information sharing to be closely associated with information activities， in particular， it is possible that information sharing not only resides information practices， but also interacts with information seeking， searching and useing.

Information seeking and information searching are seemed as the same meaning in general from the semantic aspect， but in academic area， they are different conceptions. To make the distinction between information seeking and searching is essential to the understanding of information behavior. According to Wilson （2000）， information seeking is described as the activity of interacting with manual or computer-based systems， while information searching is the narrow terms of behavior that consists of all kinds of information systems including at both level of intellectual and 'human computer interaction'. Information seeking is regarded as a broad conception covering information searching， in contrast， information searching refers to specific strategies of seeking. The perception has been continued and confirmed in the later study.Thus， the relationship of information seeking and searching is that of including and included. However， most studies tend to discuss information seeking instead of information searching， which does not mean to ignore or over information searching. Steps of information seeking are established and constitute a search process statement referring to the dimensions of information needs， selecting information sources， formulating search strategy and implementing and reviewing the strategy； the search system as one factor of influencing the information-seeking process， in addition， the issue of searching information is in relation to information retrieval as well.

2. The application of Web 2.0 technologies in general

Web 2.0 technologies realize the transformation environment from the static pattern to the dynamic so that web 2.0 tools allow users to share information in interactive and interoperable way. As a consequence， to date， web 2.0 technologies have been adopted for various purposes， and types of Web2.0-based tools have been embeded into the working and learning environment.

A broad range of web2.0 applications， being the common characteristics of emphasizing people-centric， social interactive， collaborative and participatory， which these technologies are used widespread in personal and work life. The nature of web2.0 indicates a common development orientation of interactive mode for internet information， meanwhile， each web2.0 technology has its own uniqueness that makes a distinction among applications resulting in different positioning for web2.0-based applications. Chen（2009）defined Wikis as open spaces allow users as the role of author and editor to communicate their opinions and share and exchange information， Wikipedia is a popular and typical application of Wiki. Blog systems and SNS such as Facebook and Myspace provide individual spaces， so that all contents of personal homepage can be managed by users themselves. In comparison， RSS are used as a way of describing and updating topics and information of blogs through merging RSS feeds， that are able to enrich the contents of blogs.

Moreover， different usage preferences of web2.0 technologies in an academic setting among countries indicates that culture background as a factor may result in different perception on adopting web2.0-based applications. Virkus and Bamigbola（2011）concluded the categories of web2.0-based tools by functions and purposes， which can be divided into three types including educational， professional and communicative， but this is not exhaustive and normative. It is evident that some web2.0-based tools can be used for multi-purpose， especially SNS and blogs， such as Facebook succeeds in satisfying users needs and objectives involving entertainment， meeting new people and keeping in touch with old friends.Consequently， people have multiple choices among various web2.0 applications for their purposes， in fact， for the same purpose， users also can choose different tools. While the result of research for postgraduate and PHD students' experience on Web 2.0 in Chinese Academy of Science shows that P2P-based（peer to peer）software and instant messenger as QQ are most popular for their educational purposes， in contrast， RSS and social network software are used less.

Therefore， the value-in-use of web2.0 applications not only depends on inherent nature of technologies， but also is associated with users' perceptions and preference as a result of different social context.

3.Relations of Web2.0 technologies

and information behavior

The relation between information behavior and information technical support has been explored in studies of information seeking and Web2.0 researches. As Ingwersen（1992）claimed， in the field of information science， a significant shift in information transfer was the main focus from studying technological side only to exploring the relationship of human and information technology.

Many scholars view browsing as one type of information seeking， although sometimes the browser may seek nothing， in fact， encountering information is a common phenomenon in the process of information seeking， even though most studies tend to ignore such instance， which is distinguished as serendipity（Case， 2002）.While Hearst（2009）demonstrated， both of browsing and searching can be considered as a strategy of information seeking. As mentioned above， the nature of Web2.0 is to create the platform of interaction， it seems that information seeking by browsing and searching is nothing exceptional for Web2.0 since this has been achieved by Web1.0 that supports users to view webpages only rather than external editing.

Actually， there are many web communication tools that have illustrated the closely link between Web2.0 technologies and information sharing. For instance， research with respect to Twitter shows that the attribution of microblogging is in terms of three types of intentions， including friendship-oriented relationship， information sharing and information seeking.This kind of Social Web as part of Web2.0 can enable users to have interactive activities like sharing information， exchanging ideas and giving comments， in addition， users should be allowed to identify the content and gain valuable help through the Social Web.The research about the role of Web2.0 techniques in enhancing persons' communication and their stickness to information emerges in endlessly. Zhang （2011）probed the impact of online forums on rock music diffusion， showing Web2.0 technologies contribute to communication that stirs up though-sharing over music. These findings illustrate a phenomenon that Web2.0 strengthens the information sharing behavior through providing the platform of interaction. As Gu and Widén-Wulff（2011）demonstrated， Web2.0 tools focus on characteristics of interoperability， interactivity， user-centered and information sharing.

4.Conclusion

Depending on previous studies demonstrated and discussed above， information behaviors can be defined as a series of information activities including seeking， searching， sharing and using. Information seeking differs information searching in academic area in which researches of information behavior has discussed， information searching is considered as one of seeking strategies. Web 2.0 technologies support interactive mode for information sharing.Types of web 2.0 tools are used widely in different social context， the characteristics of them are consistent with users multiple information needs that affect peoples choices. As a result， the important relations can be considered as following. Web2.0 applications as enhanced information and communication tools improve information behaviors in terms of seeking， sharing and useing， simultaneously， web2.0 tools provide a platform that allow users to interact with others and information systems actively and reflectively rather than to obtain information passively.

（作者單位：貴州師范學院）