Networked relationships

The way people connect determines how they exchange information, resources, and form collaborative relationships. Web 2.0 provides a much more efficient way to connect people than traditional methods like in-person communication, mail, or landline phones. This efficiency has led people to rebuild their relationships, shifting from small, localized communities to far larger and more diverse groups.

 Diversified relationships with different groups don't necessarily mean individuals are more isolated. Instead, with the more efficient communication fostered by Web 2.0, individuals can manage more connections at a lower cost than before. This provides greater freedom in accessing information and a better chance to avoid exploitation by monopoly organizations. This enhances people's ability to form better collaborative relationships with more individuals, even if they have never met in person. These improvements are easily seen in entertainment and media services: while families in the 1970s and 80s might have considered TV a great source of entertainment and media, their information was limited by the television station's monolithic programming. The declining number of TV clients clearly shows how Web 2.0 offers superior entertainment and information services to families and individuals. 

Networked relationships create new channels to distribute information and products. Each person can now create news, entertainment videos, music remixes, artifacts, or other products and distributes on internet. Not only has communication been transformed, but commercial relationships have also severely changed. This has reduced market and job demands in traditional vocations but created new markets and forms of demand within these new relationships. One controversial issue is intellectual property, which might be violated in internet sharing activities.