Researching a confessional society

It would seem that Web 2.0 is increasingly being seen as providing researchers with a range of new possibilities and opportunities. This paper takes a critical look at the use of Web 2.0 as a research tool or archival data source. Drawing upon Zygmunt Bauman's recent work on what he describes as a 'confessional society', where people actively engage in revealing things about themselves, the paper develops a notion of what it is that we might find in Web 2.0 and how this might be used in conducting various forms of social and market research. The paper opens with a set of reflections on what Web 2.0 is and on how useful this concept is for our shared interests. It then focuses upon Bauman's work to understand the content of Web 2.0 and the type of data we can get from it. Finally, it reflects upon the nature of this user-generated content to conclude by highlighting the issues that will face a shift towards researching a confessional society through Web 2.0 applications.