Leonard Witt with Kennesaw State University kicked off the opening session entitled: How Will Web 2.0 Affect You. To set the stage, Leonard provided a quick history of the open-source-software movement and the ramp up to Web 2.0.

One of the founding principles of Web 2.0 is that the sites get smarter with use.

In the journalism space there was OhMyNews in Korea, citizens became journalists. Then came craigslist. Things are changing.

However, much of this new world is build on trust. We have to trust that everybody is working toward a greater good. All these technologies are disruptive. Leonard is showing some examples of Web 2.0 apps. The Chicago Crime Map is a great example. Flickr, YouTube, FaceBook are all examples of communities that are being built by the users.

One of the goals of this event is to find out how we can use these tools for good, and from a local standpoint how can Georgia get ahead of the curve on these issues.

The room has opened up for questions and discussion.

One audience member took a riff on a 'pro-firefox' comment, he doesn't like the elitism in the movement. Specifically how there is so much anti-IE sentiment, you need to remember that the majority of people out there are using IE.

The conversation steers to a tools discussion and then moves away...whew. Good conversation so far. But some Waffle House bashing.

Comment from the audience: "Web 2.0 is just an online extension of what we've been doing for the past 300 years. Sharing stories, sharing ideas."

An un-conference vet next to me says, "These are the same debates that always occur..." I pointed out like I did at BlogSavannah that for many of the people are hearing this debate for the first time so it is informative.

A number of people in the room are truly concerned about using social media for social good. That's a refreshing thing.

Amber is doing a good job of following the conversation.

Other thoughts from Nik and Mark.