The Ultimate Truth About the State of the Web Today

The "ultimate truth" about the state of the web today is that there are far more questions than answers, more speculation than insight, and more postering than real understanding. Which isn't to say that no one knows anything. But I am saying that I think those who claim to be "in the know" on almost every aspect of the internet today, tend to know less than they claim.


Why? Because this little thing we call the internet is a living, breathing "organism" on its own. And if history has taught us anything, we should have figured out by now that what the internet looks like tomorrow will be far more than the sum of its designed parts.


Now that I survived the "election time period", I've again immersed myself into trying to continue to understand various aspects of living and conducting business in the internet age. A few of my thoughts are recorded over at netknowledge.blogspot.com. (By the way, I find it to be truly ironic that what I have on Vox is far better indexed by Google than anything I have on the blog I just mentioned. Blogspot is owned by Google, for those who didn't know.) My most recent journey has taken me from search engine optimization and internet marketing, generally, to some more specific topics like cause-marketing via the internet and on Web 2.0. For the time being, I causually slip in Web 2.0 because I'm going to pretend that I am convinved it's a worthy topic on its own. More candidly, I would say "the jury is still out" on that one.


But I get to say what I want and even contradict myself tomorrow. I like to think that it's the beauty of the way I think - an opinion today doesn't matter tomorrow. And the fact that I'm one of the only ones reading my blog on a daily basis at the moment, means that it's not likely anyone is going to call me on any BS that I post. Thought sometimes the conversations I almost seem to have with myself by blogging here can be quite entertaining on a personal level.


Sidetracked. Going back to my original statement, I would say that there are many illustrations. But for those who would like to find an illustration that is easy to follow (due to sheer volume and attention given to the topic), you need not look further than the discussions of Web 2.0. Is it real? Is there substance to it? Do 5 people gathered around a table at a Starbucks even know what the other is talking about when they mention web 2.0? Probably not. It's like saying "God" or "spirituality" and then expecting that everyone is thinking of the same entity or concept.


Is Web 2.0 simply a re-packaged set of marketing terms? (Every once in a while, the soft drink makers will come up with a new design for bottles and cans. Did the formula for the cola change?).


The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. But looking at the most current (and past) discussions of Web 2.0 is a good illustration of what I like to think of as the "ulimate truth of the web today". The fact is, people haven't even agreed on what they are talking about, let alone agree on where technology is headed.


But that's the beauty of it. Once again I hear myself saying, life would be boring if we all agreed with each other. I have my own ideas about the internet, current and future. But the last thing I want is for everyone to agree with me. And I have my own secret little projects that I think will label me an innovator, but who's to say that what I think is right or real?


The ultimate truth about almost anything is that people are different; people have their own ideas; people will sometimes get along and sometimes they won't; some people are right, some people are wrong, and most spend time in each group. In regards to technology and the internet, the truth is that concepts come and go, so do companies, so does technology itself. One startup succeeds and another fails. This has happened many times in the past, it probably happened somewhere today, and the future will be the same.


But we keep striving to discuss, innovate, build, and grow. Passion for life and humanity will fuel even greater things. So whether we're discussing technology, the internet, web 2.0, or anything else, it's the conversation itself that contains the greatest reward. One of the ultimate truths of life is that life is in the journey and the conversation along the way.

Material originally posted on 11/16/2006 at uberveritas.vox.com.