A recent study by Väätäjä et al. (2009, cited Musser et al. 2006) defined web 2.0 as "a set of economic, social, and technology trends that collectively form the basis for the next generation of the Internet – a more mature, distinctive medium characterized by user participation, openness, and network effects". This study; written in 2009; citing Tim O'reilly's work which brainstormed ideas in determining the concept of web 2.0, suggests that the concept is still prominent in media circles which seek define the increased user interactivity experiences across the internet since its mainstream inception in the 1980's. Web 2.0, together with increased internet bandwidth availability has allowed users to interact with content provided to them by the makers of both conventional televised documentary programmes and non-conventional, purely internet-based documentaries alike.
The BBC recently outlined some of its production aims over a documentary about the world wide web; appealing to viewers to contribute to its creation: "It is our ambition to open up the production process as much as possible; to share as much of our thinking as possible, as the production team strive to create a cohesive, accurate and relevant documentary about the World Wide Web. We'll be blogging as we go; we'll share our theories; we'll be putting up rushes from the filming; we'll be asking for advice and stories from you as we go along" (Biddle, 2009). This further provides evidence to show that the narrative nature and style of the conventional documentary is being challenged, in favour of a narrative provided by a group of dedicated viewers. Essentially, the interactive documentary brings together the broad and multinational audience of the internet; providing images, visuals, sounds and a plethora of written texts in order to allow the potential for participant-led direct involvement in the way in which the documentary narrative is uncovered, as opposed to the conventionally creator-led narratives of documentary programming.
