The Problem with Web 2.0
As a quick continuation of my last article I am beginning to see that while Web 2.0 is thriving, it’s reaching the point where it’s not evolving as much. Sure, change is slow, but I think this has grounds in a fundamental problem - Web 2.0 is based on 1.0. What I mean by this is that most Web 2.0 technologies are based on an infrastructure that was only built for 1.0. What I think we need is for the infrastructure to begin to incorporate into Web 2.0. A house built on the properly shaped foundation is, after all, a much more stable house than the alternative.
The remnants of the original web still litter our lives - XHTML, although better than HTML, is still based on that markup language which was built for static pages. Yes, we can write server-side scripts to output dynamic XHTML and use JavaScript to alter it client-side, but I think we can do better. I don’t have any idea what would be better (I do like the elegance of XML which is why I can’t entirely fault XHTML) but I do think it’s time that things moved forward. We’ve had essentially a single markup language for the whole life of the web, so shouldn’t the needs of Web 2.0 indicate that we need to change? Of course, hardware itself would probably have to be upgraded to meet these new needs.
Of course as soon as we start talking about change we have to consider backwards compatibility. What about all those people on older computers that just want to check their email? Well, why I do see the need to support backwards compatibility to a degree I think that change is necessary. Change keeps us from stagnation. Yes, not everyone will be happy. And no, I don’t want the web to be some kind of elite data network where only those who can afford the newest technology can use it.
I would just like to see something come out that totally surpasses HTML, XHTML and other web technologies and blows the mind of every web developer out there.