Rebirth of the Wild Age

A few days before New Year's Day, Song Weiyang hosted three reporters at home.

One is Hu Song, a reporter for "Liaowang" Weekly, the other is Pang Anming, a photographer for "Liaowang" Weekly, and the other is Liu Ziran, a senior from Fudan University.

"Hello Hu Ji!" Song Weiyang took the initiative to shake hands.

"Hello, Mr. Song!" Hu Song smiled.

Song Weiyang said again: "Hello Pangji!"

"Mr. Song, hello!" Pang Anming was fiddling with his camera, he was shocked when he heard the greeting, and quickly stepped forward to shake hands with Song Weiyang. He used to interview various celebrities and politicians, and he stood by the side to take pictures honestly, and none of the interviewees took the initiative to shake hands with him.

Finally, Song Weiyang joked with Liu Ziran: "Sister, you're not bad, you have all become Xinhua News Agency reporters."

Liu Ziran smiled and said, "There are many reporters from Xinhua News Agency. I'm just a reporter from Shenghai Branch."

"Liaowang" belongs to the weekly magazine of Xinhua News Agency. This interview was matched by Liu Ziran. She also came over to listen and ask a few words, and then wrote a manuscript and posted it in the local newspaper. Song Weiyang's current interview is particularly difficult to arrange, even Liu Ziran, a senior sister, can't make an appointment.

Hu Song said straightforwardly: "Mr. Song, "Looking Out" has many content sections. This interview with you will be placed in the'People' section. This section is dedicated to protagonists or key figures in major news events at home and abroad, and Reports on people with high newsworthiness who are influential in China and international affairs. The theme of this interview is based on the concept of Internet Web2.0. Please take a look at the interview draft. If there is anything inconvenient to answer, or you We can avoid talking about issues that we feel are sensitive."

Song Weiyang took the interview and browsed through the draft, nodded and said, "No problem."

"Well, let's start now?" Hu Song asked.

Song Weiyang smiled and said, "Yes, please take it easy."

Hu Song didn't directly raise the formal question, but said as usual: "I have received a lot of interview invitations recently, right?"

Song Weiyang smiled helplessly: "Not only invitations for interviews, but also invitations for various speeches. The invitations every day are double digits. Tsinghua and Peking University also asked me to give a speech a few days ago. I have to agree to that house, how can I have so much free time? I turned down the invitation from Fudan University. Who knows that the old principal called me directly, so I can’t push it away. After doing your interview, I I'm going to Fudan in the afternoon. I've known it a long time ago and I won't show up."

"Speaking of being in the limelight, there are a lot of reports about you in the U.S.," Hu Song asked, "have the U.S. media contacted you?"

Song Weiyang said: "Yes, American Times Weekly and People Weekly have sent emails to me, wanting to give me an exclusive interview. Even gossip magazines like American Weekly join in the fun, good celebrity scandals. If you don't report, why do you come to provoke me?"

"An interview with Time Weekly?" Hu Song asked with interest, "Did you agree?"

Song Weiyang shook his head and said, "I refused."

Hu Song finally showed a surprised expression: "It is an honor for many people to be able to appear in Time magazine. Why would you refuse?"

"Because the recent reports in the American media made me feel uncomfortable," Song Weiyang said, "There is an invisible big hand that is manipulating American public opinion and the Nasdaq, and I have become a tool held by this big hand. I don't want to be caught. People use it and don’t want to give up such a false name. The American media is praising me."

Hu Song smiled and said, "You have always been so rational?"

Song Weiyang said: "I rarely get irrational."

Hu Song casually wrote a few words in the shorthand notebook, and sat upright and said: "We are back to business, how did you come up with the concept of Web2.0?"

Song Weiyang asked, "Have you heard of Kevin Kelly?"

Hu Song thought for a while: "The founding editor-in-chief of American "Wired" magazine?"

"Yes, it's him," Song Weiyang nodded and said, "Kevin Kelly published "Out of Control" in 1994. When Hollywood was filming "The Matrix," the director asked all crew members, including the actors, to Everyone must watch "Out of Control" at least once."

Hu Song asked: "What is the connection between "Out of Control" and Web2.0?"

Song Weiyang said: "The book "Out of Control" is not just a work on the Internet, it covers many aspects of society, economy, culture, history, etc. Kevin Kelly connects living organisms with man-made objects in the book, he said Life forms are becoming more and more stylized, and man-made objects continue to show the characteristics of life. He called life forms and man-made objects with the characteristics of life forms "super life forms", and the evolution of super life forms and the relationship between life forms The contact is all through the Internet. I think the inspiration for "The Matrix" came from this book."

Hu Song knew that Song Weiyang hadn't finished speaking, and smiled and nodded in response: "In 1994, this is a very advanced concept."

"It's also very advanced now," Song Weiyang laughed. "Kevin Kelly said that the relationship between heavenly creation and man-made objects will become closer and closer, and the bee colony effect was mentioned when explaining this connection. Nothing. A bee and ants are controlling the colony, but there is an invisible hand, a hand emerging from a large number of dull members, but controlling the entire colony. Its magic is that quantitative changes cause qualitative changes, from the collective of individual onions Transition to a cluster collective, as long as the number of insects is increased, so that a large number of insects can gather together, so that they can communicate with each other. When the complexity reaches a certain level at a certain stage, the cluster will emerge from the insects, and the inherent properties of the insects are Contains cluster attributes. Note that the keywords for these content are'emerge' and'cluster'!"

This topic is obviously a bit brain-burning. Hu Song has never watched "Out of Control" before. He subconsciously asked: "So, Web2.0 is a product of the bee colony effect?"

Song Weiyang nodded and said, "Yes, an individual in society is equivalent to an ant or a bee. Kevin Kelly said that if you use a cyclotron and an X-ray machine to detect a bee, you can never find the hive from it. It’s the same with people. If you observe an individual alone, whether you are smart or ignorant, or knowledgeable or ignorant, he is just a single person. However, the Internet can connect countless individuals. In the network, people can communicate with each other and communicate with each other. Enlightenment and co-creation will form clusters. When the power of clusters merge together, there will be the characteristics of "emerging". So I think that the concept of Web2.0 is actually the honeycomb effect acting on the Internet. The network is a honeycomb, and netizens It's a bee."

Hu Song asked: "Is this all Kevin Kelly's theory?"

Song Weiyang said: "It can be regarded as. Kevin Kelly said in the book that as the number of members increases, the possible interaction between two or more members increases exponentially. When the connection is high and the number of members is large, At that time, the dynamic characteristics of group behavior have emerged. The so-called quantitative change causes qualitative changes. Now that P2P technology is becoming more and more mature, it is enough to support the Internet's swarm effect. Each increase in Internet users has caused the development of Internet content to grow exponentially. The results of the Internet in the next year may be equal to the results of the past ten years. This is a characteristic of'emerging'. So I said that the new era of the Internet has come, and the prosperity of the Web 2.0 era will far exceed that of Web 1.0. era."

Hu Song said: "Can you elaborate on the characteristics of Web2.0 in more detail?"

"I have already said the basic characteristics at the Internet conference," Song Weiyang said, "I will repeat the description of Kevin Kelly in "Out of Control". He believes that the cluster system has the following advantages: First, adaptability, clustering The system can continue to survive or adapt to new excitation signals when some components fail; second, evolvability, the individual experience and evolution in a cluster can be passed from one individual to another, and ultimately lead to group evolution ; Third, infinity. In a cluster system, positive feedback can lead to increasing order, spontaneous order can create more order, information can breed more information, and life can reproduce more lives; fourth, novelty..."

Hu Song asked: "Are there any shortcomings in the cluster system?"

Song Weiyang said: "Yes, let's use the Internet as an example. Non-optimality, used to be websites controlling the network. In the Web 2.0 era, everyone creates the network. Without the control of the central brain, the distribution of network resources is chaotic. Redundant content has greatly increased, and repeated efforts by netizens and programmers can be seen everywhere. There is also uncontrollability. In the Web 2.0 era, no one is an authority, everyone is a hero, and capital and programmers cannot control the direction of development. Conform to the development trend of the Internet. There is also non-sufficiency..."

Hu Song said: "So Kevin Kelly predicted the arrival of the Web 2.0 era?"

"It can be said that it is, or it can be said that it is not," Song Weiyang said. "Kevin Kelly's thoughts belong to the basic theory of Web2.0, which is both clear and vague. He didn't know that P2P technology could develop to the present level. Degree. It can be said that Kevin Kelly sees the general direction, but the development of details will be beyond his imagination. But Kevin Kelly has a particularly exquisite sentence, he said that the group system belongs to the "wisdom of the group". This sentence summarizes In the Web2.0 era, everyone is ordinary, but everyone is a hero."

Hu Song said: "Do you like it very much? The book "Out of Control" seems to have not been published in China."

"I read the original English edition," Song Weiyang said. "Kevin Kelly had a great influence in the Western computer and network circles. Before he founded the "Wired" magazine, Jobs was already a loyal reader of his. 80's."

Hu Song said: "Whether it is the cluster effect ~www.readwn.com~ or the swarm effect, this seems to be a sociological theory."

Song Weiyang smiled and said, "I studied sociology in college."

Hu Song said: "Can it be understood that you put forward the concept of Web2.0, not based on computer and Internet knowledge, but from your sociological thinking?"

"You can say that." Song Weiyang said.

Hu Song said: "Will Web2.0 have an impact on the real society?"

Song Weiyang said: "I think that Web2.0 and the real society influence each other. But in the Web3.0 era, the Internet and the real society will become one and inseparable, and it will be difficult to survive in society without using the Internet."

Hu Song smiled and said, "Will you die if you don't surf the Internet?"

Song Weiyang said: "Death is not enough, but it must be out of touch with society, just like a secluded monk in Zhongnanshan. People are group and social animals..."

Hu Song soon discovered that he didn't know if not going online would be out of touch with society, but his interview today was out of touch with the pre-set draft. He originally wanted to talk to Song Weiyang about science and technology and the Internet, but he never returned to the direction of sociology and philosophy. Several times he tried to make it straight, but he couldn't get it back. Song Weiyang always talked and talked about society. Studies and philosophical issues, and even finally rushed towards the direction of psychology.

Well, when Song Weiyang was studying in Fudan, psychology was also a compulsory subject.

As the topic got deeper and deeper, Hu Song was almost overwhelmed. He didn't know how to answer the question, so he could only lead Song Weiyang to continue talking. In the end, the two met in the field of communication. This was Hu Song's original major, and he was finally able to ask more targeted questions.

Returning to the magazine, Hu Song wrote at the beginning of the article: "Song Weiyang is not a pure businessman, he is more like a philosopher, sociologist, and psychologist. He also has a very deep understanding of communication..."