Is Web 2.0 just Crap 2.0?
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Loading ...When I started this business, I was pretty clear that I was not going to make the same mistakes as so many technology companies before us. I worked hard to make sure the products we built were solid, well tested, properly documented, and packaged. In a lot of ways, I have sacrificed significant market position by ensuring that what we delivered was well built and complete. What I am discovering is that the hype machine is starting to take over again. Having gone through Web 1.0 with some battle scars and a desire to do things right, I know all about vaporware and the ridiculous yet well funded technologies movement. It still boggles my mind what kinds of products get funded. Exactly how many social networking sites do we need? I remember when MySpace was called Geocities, or was that Homestead, or was that Tripod. I can’t remember exactly, but it was one of those create your own gaudy brightly covered websites slathered with photos. The difference now is that it is “Cool”. Remember Guestbooks? Now they are known as Blogs, or Wikis, or collaborative knowledge spheres or some such nonsense.
The point is that it is easy to do the same old thing and simply slap a pretty new coating on it. Web 2.0 should be about changing the way things are done, taking risks, and shaking up the status quo. It should not be about taking mediocre crap that didn’t work the first time around, re-purposing it and trying to pass it off as new technology. The number of Web 2.0 companies is growing every day. It would appear that in many cases, all you need to do is come up with a funny name like Bungo, Rimba, Adoodoodoo, or Adadada, create some jazzy little web application like video sharing or a social networking thingy, add a dash of rounded corner buttons and a cartoony logo and BAM! Web 2.0 here we come.
I suppose my past experiences have left me jaded. I’ve seen some ridiculous projects get millions of dollars in funding, all at the cost of individual investors who were convinced they were investing in the next Google. Frankly I don’t like to see good people get taken advantage of by manipulative hucksters or crafty salespeople. It would appear that the purveyors of snakeoil 2.0 are alive and well.
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