Plan E
Because Plans A-D aren't usually interesting enough.
Wednesday 1 November 2006, 1:07 PM
Just how much has web technology changed?
Wendy mentioned that she was disappointed that much of what we've done didn't happen whilst she was here (I think Wendy left ZDNet in 2000/2001...)
Which made me think - why didn't it?! What couldn't we have done then, that we are doing now? And the truth is, I've come up with very little. Infact, I can only think of 3 things:
1. The XMLHTTP code that enables AJAX to work was produced by Microsoft as part of Web Access 2000. Whilst we don’t use XML on ZDNet.co.uk we use that module to produce our Tag Clouds and it also sits behind the “Check Username Availability” function in our registration pages. So if Wendy left in 2000 then I guess we couldn’t have done that, but I’d be willing to bet there would have been another way of doing this – it just wouldn’t have been so clever.
2. It wasn't until 2002 that broadband kicked off in the UK when Ben Verwaayen (who had just been appointed BT CEO) announced huge price cuts and the take-up rate accelerated within months. In fact, broadband developments were such a big deal that we even had the Broadband Informer newsletter on ZDNet -dedicated (funnily enough) to everything broadband and written by our very own Graeme Wearden. So again, when Wendy was here you wouldn't have been able to watch the kind of multi-media content that we now produce on ZDNet.co.uk - or very few people could have anyway as the bandwidth simply wasn't there to deliver it properly.
3. Love it or hate it, the phrase 'Web 2.0' wasn't coined until 2004, so how could we have done some of the stuff you'll find across ZDNet.co.uk now like the professional networking functionality etc before the catch-all phrase to describe this kind of stuff was invented???!
Of course, we could have invented it. It’s only a phrase afterall, and frankly, if I'm right, then the tools were there do to it when Wendy was here.
And that, as far as I can tell, is about it. Am sure the team will tell me otherwise :) but the basic point is this - the main reason why we didn't do it before is because we didn't think of it.
I'm glad we have now. This is only the beginning.
PreviousComments on this post
Firstly - great 1st blog post - already a fan.
I agree with what you say to some extent. A a lot of the features of the new ZDNet were possible back in 2000 but realistically it wouldn't of happened. It would although the technology was potentially there the techniques had not been created, tested and established. It would take an incredible amount of inovation to have put out a site which, in my opinion is still ahead of its time NOW, 5-6 years ago. Months of development would have been needed to create a feature which today would take a week as we don't have to invent the wheel. Then you risk being a flop as if its too far ahead it may be too new and confusing for that generation to understand or use to its potential.
I think if ZDNet continue to be on the cutting edge and innovating in some areas it is already ahead of the game and doing well.
