There Goes the Neighborhood
By Molly E. Holzschlag
I'm so tired of the terms "venture capital" and "angel investors." What happened to the Web I loved—that strange, diverse place where human expression, information, and global community were as important as commerce?
Once a place for information exchange and personal expression, the Web is now driven by commercial endeavors. While this has been great for technological innovation, which is exciting, human issues have been relegated to the Web's alleys and back roads in the rush to develop Web "properties." In essence, the Web is undergoing gentrification—a virtual urban renewal.
How can the home-page enthusiast make her mark? Where does the small businessperson go? And what on earth does this gentrification process demand of us—an already stressed group of developers—as we seek to advance our technical know-how to keep up with market demands? Underneath the poignant philosophical arguments lies an equally confounding and perhaps alarming trend regarding the technology we use to stake out our Web claim.
The Lay of the Land
There are some staggering differences between the ways that the first Web settlers used the medium and the methods necessitated by today's Web demands. The fundamental discrepancy lies in ease-of-entry. The early Web was relatively easy to work with and create. Today's Web demands technical know-how that even the most senior developers are struggling to gain or improve. This is clear in several development arenas, including client-side coding, server-side technology, and content.<>
