The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Several years ago, David Weinberger, a professional speaker, computer analyst and technologist, authored a piece called Small Pieces Loosely Joined. In this essay, Weinberger argued that part of the wonder of the Internet was that no matter where people are physically located, when we are online we can be right next door to each other simply through linking to each other's works. He explains that the Internet is a different type of space from other places we are used to. He says that these small pieces, which can be scattered around the world, can be joined together in networks that are loosely joined, allowing us to harness the power of all of these people. Over the last year, as web 2.0 technologies have grown across the web, the idea of small pieces joined together across the globe has become a reality. People may have a Flickr account to post their photos or a blog to post their thoughts. They can upload their videos to YouTube and collaborate with their friends using a wiki. It doesn't matter where all of these pieces are located. They can be anywhere on the planet. I have no idea where a lot of my stuff online is physically located. It could be on a server around the corner from my house, or buried under the Himalayan mountains. It simply doesn't matter to me. But small pieces is a philosophy that makes companies nervous. Under this idea, people have very little dedication to any one company as they move freely from space to space, from service to service, and from company to company, not really caring who they are dealing with. This makes large companies worry. Large companies like to keep people in their space for as long as possible. It is like TV stations that hate it when you change the channel. They want you to turn to their channel and stay there all night. But with the rise of cable and satellite channels, people don't really care where the channel they are watching is located. Outside of specialized programs like the news, it doesn't matter where you watch the shows that you want. The same goes for free web 2.0 technologies that are scattered across the globe. Companies would rather you come to their site and stay there for all of your services. This is why companies like Google are expanding, starting with spreadsheets and online documents. Moving from there to YouTube and now Jotspot, the online wiki program. Google wants you to stay with them to schedule your calendar, do your shopping, and find your way around. Having all of these services bundled on one site allows you to have one password and get used to a single interface, something that consumers love. But is a single space the best place to be? As a lot of software moves online, consumers are in control because they have choices and they don't keep all of their eggs in one basket. As companies know you have choice and want you to keep coming back, they keep adding onto their services and improving them. But if consumers begin to find all of their services in one place, it will not be long until these services cost money. What then? After you have stored all of your documents with Google, set up your calendars there, and used it for your e-mail account, what choice will you have but to pay when they begin placing a fee on their services? ([email protected]) Tech Notes runs Mondays.
