Web 2.0 - the ultimate software smorgasbord

Being part of TheGoodBlogs as a member brings a certain level of responsibility. At least I feel that now more so than ever. In the past, I would wait for that moment of inspiration or an event or article that grabs my attention. Now, I feel a need to contribute to the network more often and also think about what I want to blog about. Dare I say it, there is a sense of community. To blog irresponsibility not only impacts me but my fellow bloggers with whom I share TheGoodBlogs podium. Maybe there is something to TheGoodBlogs!

Being a small shop has so many advantages. We can be reactive and adaptive by the minute. The changes we make are overnight (one of our trusted advisors paid me the ultimate complement saying it was "frighteningly fast", you gotta love that! (so are our mistakes). I can tell you about shutting down servers on the wrong day or forgetting to point to images that are accessible to the outside world, or moving code around and creating unforeseen anomalies. Yes, it's all dirty linen but so common, I'm not afraid to share. The beauty is that we can have a culture of failing fast, not being afraid to try things, shipping prototypes...because the key is not about writing the most wonderful, secure, robust code that nobody may like but finding software recipes that users will like. Web 2.0 is like smorgasbord of software, all free to try and let the audience decide if we're going to be the next new thang.

One of the interesting insights we have gleaned so far is that our network shows us that there is a portion of readers who do not have Javascript enabled on their browsers. The percentage is not insignificant and can range between 15-20% depending on the day. So many of the widgets we put on our blogs today are Javascript based, we forget there is a portion of our readership that may never see them. A good example would be Google Adsense. 10-20% of your readers may never see the ads, but then maybe all the savy readers who click on your ads always have Javascript enabled! Food for thought!