Not sure how I feel about the term – probably the same as I feel about the other 101 terms that seem to haunt web-speak. Still, Duncan Reilly over at TechCrunch seems to know when he stands:
I’m a user and I’m proud of it. I’m not “people”, nor do I want to be. If you’re reading this post there is a 100% chance that you’re a user as well. People is a plural expression that treats us all as sheep. User is a term that in referring to the individual can be owned by one and owned by many at the same time. In being users we are all individuals as it refers to us.Web 2.0 is the pinnacle of being a user. Not only do we use the internet, we use it for self gratification as well. Use cuts both ways. Users are not users of technology alone but users of other people. We share our personal thoughts and creative endeavors with as many people that would care to view, listen or watch it. The people providing the drugs to a generation of user junkies are now nearly unilaterally expecting attention in return as well.
