Wednesday 3 August 2011

War 2.0: What is it (good for)?

The title "War 2.0: China Suspected in Massive Cyberattack on U.N., U.S. Gov't, and More" from DailyTech (http://www.dailytech.com/) is all that refers to this particular 2.0ed phrase. But it's obvious what the 2.0 is referring to without getting into the article at all:
2.0 = cyberstuff
I guess this is a case of constant conjunction confusing meaning. Just like the word "alcoholic" leads to tacking on "-oholic" to refer to someone who is addicted (or more often "addicted") to something, such as a chocoholic is "addicted" to chocolate. 2.0 in common conversation is seen often in the context of either Web 2.0 or in second versions of software. Ergo, 2.0 is seen as something to do with technology and specifically web/online "stuff". It's also got the "point" in there so it's mathematical, which makes it nerdy, which in turn makes it computer-related.

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