I recently started listening to some podcasts and reading blogs about “Web 2.0″ – the new evolution in the way that we use the World Wide Web. For all my friends and students over the age of (ahem…) who may be unfamiliar with the term Web 2.0, I have three words for you: Twitter, Flickr and Facebook. Ring a bell now? Even John McCain knows Twitter (apparently).

But as I am beginning to learn, Web 2.0 is a whole lot more than social networking and Google maps. It is about the open (as opposed to “secret”) sharing of information, communication and ideas across all platforms of technology. That last part really has me intrigued. It means that you can get all kinds of media – text, images, video and audio (both spoken and music) on any kind of device – your computer, your t.v., your ipod and even your cell phone.

So how does the Web 2.0 relate to T’ai Chi? Well, here’s an example: the other day one of my students sent me an article by a pretty well-known (caucasian) T’ai Chi teacher. In the article, he was talking about his claim that the style he teaches was only taught to a small inner circle of disciples of the second son of the original master of all masters… OK, about this time I just tuned out.

I kept wondering, “What good is information if it is impossible to find? What good is knowledge if it is never shared?” One the other hand, what would it be like to live in a world in which we could freely access the wisdom of the ages (particularly in the moments of great stress when we need it most of all)?

Ever since I found my first Flip video camera, I’ve been more or less obsessed with the idea that we are living in an age in which T’ai Chi instruction could meet the 21st century. Instruction could follow you anywhere, and it could be completely interactive. For example, since more and more cell phones have video cameras built right in; almost anyone could fire off a short video clip to a T’ai Chi teacher for a quick Q&A during practice! Or you could take a lesson online – while waiting in line at the DMV! Or you could tweet about a particular move with a group of fellow students – all of whom live in different parts of the world.

It’s what I call T’ai Chi 2.0… and so we decided to make drtaichi.com the first example of combining T’ai Chi with Web 2.0 technology to become (what we hope will be) the largest resource for interactive T’ai Chi learning on the internet! You may have noticed the changes on our site lately. We are creating a rich forum for T’ai Chi. We envision an Academy for the study, research and development of T’ai Chi; a marketplace for ideas; and a virtual community for the exchange and exploration of thoughts and questions.

It’s starting tomorrow (assuming that all our techno stuff goes well). It’s going to be HUGE! But that’s all I can say about it – until tomorrow. See you then!

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