If you use a basic definition of social networking as a social structure made of nodes which are generally individuals or organizations. It indicates the ways in which they are connected through various social familiarities ranging from casual acquaintance to close familial bonds (2007, February 14). Then the creation and existence of such communication networks dates back to the early days of computer networking (see Kleinrock, n.d.). So what is the difference between pre-Web 1.0, and Web 2.0? I believe you can sum it up in two words access and purpose. Early CMC was limited to a select few people with access to the linked computer systems necessary for communication and the knowledge, skills, and abilities to use the systems. Of course, in many of these early communications, the systems were not only the tools for the actual contact but the reason the contact was required. Today many more people have access to the technologies needed to make online connections, while I wont say that connection is universally available we are much closer to that dream then we were in 1969. Likewise, as the use of technology has simplified more people can use the systems without having intimate knowledge of how the systems they are using actually work. Particularly, in my teenage research population, most all of the teens from developed countries have access to computers at some point during their week. So many more people are available to make connections then were available in the early days of networked computing. Of course now many of these computer users go online specifically to make and maintain their human connections. For many of them communication has become their primary purpose for accessing computer systems. The teens I talk with go online to blog, to rate music and films, to post videos on YouTube (where networks are created around specific videos and the videographers themselves), and to make new friends or to talk to their old friends among many other ways that they connect and maintain their connections electronically while they do search for information it is not the reason they regularly go online. For them the idea that early CMC was about the systems themselves seems quaint and pretty boring, they connect electronically through many sites/systems around many topics and many people. Current social networking technology allows for more variety of connection but the basics of networking remain the same. So it seems to me that the discussion should be less about Web 2.0 and more about the number of potential nodes, particularly nodes with limited computer programming skills, and the reasons why these nods exist online. Reference List Social network (2007, February 14). Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking Kleinrock, Leonard (n.d.). The Day the Infant Internet Uttered its First Words. Leonard Kleinrock's Home Page. Retrieved February 14, 2007, from http://www.lk.cs.ucla.edu/LK/Inet/1stmesg.html Lois Ann Scheidt Doctoral Student - School of Library and Information Science, Indiana University, Bloomington IN USA Adjunct Instructor - School of Informatics, IUPUI, Indianapolis IN USA and IUPUC, Columbus IN USA Webpage: http://www.loisscheidt.com Blog: http://www.professional-lurker.com