The web is dying

The Web is dying.

I remember, it was sometime in 1996, when every single thing I did on or for the Web was cool, new, and different. I was learning to program for web servers. Hooking them up to databases even before it was popular. I never slept – fearing I would miss something. Front row seats at the Revolution. Friends and coworkers were learning to create beauty within the confines of a browser. And out there, all voices could now be heard. It was never about money. Of course people paid us to do what we were doing, which kept us awash in software and servers. Saving the world was the agenda of the day and we were all over it.

Not anymore. The web has become a great resource for research, a convenient tool for commerce, and yet another medium for Really Big Business, but noone really gives a shit about it anymore. My daughter (12) reads email and instant messages. I’ve offered to make a nice web site for her (or blog even). She’s not interested. Why should she be, none of her friends use the web much. Even I don’t spend time just browsing these days. I’ve got my 8 or 9 sites that I read regularly, plus the few oddball research spots. Other than that, I sometimes think I’ve found everything I need, so why bother.

We are still creating great things for the web. Cool things. Useful things. Why doesn’t anyone care?