The web, in its current form, is boring. Dress it up any way you want to, Web 2.0, 3.0, AJAX, etc. Blah.
Intro
Ironically, this train of thought began when I read a “tweet” by Buzz Anderson, a well-known Mac developer and blogger in his own right:
I couldn’t put my finger on it at the time, but I’m sure I agreed with this statement. I’m really not inclined to bitch, and this shouldn’t be taken as a “this is why Web 2.0, 3.0, AJAX, etc. sucks” post.
First, allow me to digress into a quick background passage, describing how and why I became a “computer dude.” When I was a teenager, I was very interested in electronics and how things worked. Bending machinery to my will was fascinating, and I was hooked. This provided the impetus for me to go to college and major in Computer Science. While I was in college, I learned that Computer Science was not all about writing cool apps, games, or web pages. There were certain logical constructs and fundamental truths that hadn’t changed since the birth of the discipline, they had just been rewritten into a multitude of different languages and executed on a virtual cornucopia of platforms. This was exciting to me, because I saw this knowledge as a means to an end. If I could master these basic truths, understand the logic underlying the craft, and add a bit of art (the human or the craftsman’s touch) to whatever I was doing, I’d always be able to create cool stuff. Unfortunately, mastering the fundamental truths of computer science was the easy task. Developing cool apps, apps that build upon and encourage the creative spark of the human mind, was the difficult bit.
Collaboration
“Social Media” is a key feature of the “New Web”. Some might say it’s the raison d’être for the entire Web 2.0 genre. Flickr, facebook, youtube, and a billion other sites build upon Alan Kay’s fundamental theory:
This phrase inspired the original Macintosh team to create a revolutionary device. I’m sure it has lived in the hearts of many other teams. However, if there is no creative spark behind collaboration, it only facilitates a distributed form of navel-gazing.
Too Much of a Good Thing
Collaboration allows a group of human minds to create an entity with a value greater than the sum of its parts, if this effort is pushed in the correct direction. By correct, I’m not discounting the value of entertainment, as “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” (last cliché, I promise!). However, the stream of apps coming out of the “New Web” movement such as Twitter, Pownce, yet another photo sharing site, yet another video sharing site, Facebook, Myspace, etc. is never ending. One wonders how many variations of this theme we’ll see before people throw up their hands in despair.
Outro
The coolest thing one can accomplish is to build a tool that empowers the greatest creative force in the universe, the human mind. Once unlocked, the mind creates the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Personal Computer, beautiful music, and sublime works of art. I don’t see any creative potential being unlocked or enabled by this current raft of web apps, and I wonder if the medium is too limited to allow to succeed in this arena. Until Web 2.0 unlocks the creative genius of a multitude of minds, I’ll be skeptical of its success. Navel-gazing, while fun and entertaining, quickly loses its meaning when set against a world of magnificent accomplishments, enabled by unlocking the creative potential of the human soul.
Explore posts in the same categories: General