Comments on: Is the new ‘widgetised’ online culture set to collapse? http://www.usingmyhead.com/2008/10/30/is-the-new-widgetised-online-culture-set-to-collapse/ helping people & organisations make sense of the online world Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:15:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: mikocoffey http://www.usingmyhead.com/2008/10/30/is-the-new-widgetised-online-culture-set-to-collapse/comment-page-1/#comment-1023 mikocoffey Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:35:04 +0000 http://www.usingmyhead.com/2008/10/30/is-the-new-widgetised-online-culture-set-to-collapse/#comment-1023 Yup, I agree 100% that having a high barrier to entry doesn't equal quality. As for my opinion on blogs or the internet as a whole, I am not sure they necessarily draw parallels with widgets... I think the value in (most) blogs is that they are pure content creation or opinion/commentary, as opposed to widgets which for the most part just tend to repackage existing content. Yes, there are millions of blogs that have no value to me, but perhaps they do have value to someone, and regardless I still respect the creative process and authors' right to voice their views. I can't see the creativity behind most widgets; to me, many are just a way of rebranding something not very '2.0' to give it a shiny Web 2.0 badge. I am all for reducing barriers, and allowing for greater experimentation & creativity. But I'm not sure I agree that quality will ultimately be selected by users and win out. If only that were the case, we would have all had Betamax instead of VHS in our homes, and I can think of plenty of web start-ups that would have survived rather than failed when their VC ran out. Too often it's the product/company/idea that has the most financial backing or best marketing that wins out, not the best idea. But maybe I'm just a jaded old fool ;-) Yup, I agree 100% that having a high barrier to entry doesn’t equal quality. As for my opinion on blogs or the internet as a whole, I am not sure they necessarily draw parallels with widgets…

I think the value in (most) blogs is that they are pure content creation or opinion/commentary, as opposed to widgets which for the most part just tend to repackage existing content. Yes, there are millions of blogs that have no value to me, but perhaps they do have value to someone, and regardless I still respect the creative process and authors’ right to voice their views. I can’t see the creativity behind most widgets; to me, many are just a way of rebranding something not very ’2.0′ to give it a shiny Web 2.0 badge.

I am all for reducing barriers, and allowing for greater experimentation & creativity. But I’m not sure I agree that quality will ultimately be selected by users and win out. If only that were the case, we would have all had Betamax instead of VHS in our homes, and I can think of plenty of web start-ups that would have survived rather than failed when their VC ran out. Too often it’s the product/company/idea that has the most financial backing or best marketing that wins out, not the best idea. But maybe I’m just a jaded old fool ;-)

]]> By: Andy http://www.usingmyhead.com/2008/10/30/is-the-new-widgetised-online-culture-set-to-collapse/comment-page-1/#comment-955 Andy Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:40:19 +0000 http://www.usingmyhead.com/2008/10/30/is-the-new-widgetised-online-culture-set-to-collapse/#comment-955 Hi Miko, I take you're point that there's a lot of rubbish. But I cannot remember a golden era of the widget. Even when the barriers of entry are high (buying a newspaper company) the product isn't always good. I'm curious what you think of the internet as a whole or even blogs in general. I can see you're point about the attempts to make widgets create money. But the widespread rubbish could be a good thing. It indicates other things are happening with the technology and the ability to create is easier. History proves that this leads to greater innovation over time. Quality will ultimately be selected by the users. Put another way, a broad gene pool of widgets will lead to a natural selection of the best applications and implementations: ready for the next generation. Hi Miko, I take you’re point that there’s a lot of rubbish. But I cannot remember a golden era of the widget. Even when the barriers of entry are high (buying a newspaper company) the product isn’t always good. I’m curious what you think of the internet as a whole or even blogs in general.
I can see you’re point about the attempts to make widgets create money. But the widespread rubbish could be a good thing. It indicates other things are happening with the technology and the ability to create is easier. History proves that this leads to greater innovation over time. Quality will ultimately be selected by the users. Put another way, a broad gene pool of widgets will lead to a natural selection of the best applications and implementations: ready for the next generation.

]]> By: mikocoffey http://www.usingmyhead.com/2008/10/30/is-the-new-widgetised-online-culture-set-to-collapse/comment-page-1/#comment-822 mikocoffey Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:06:07 +0000 http://www.usingmyhead.com/2008/10/30/is-the-new-widgetised-online-culture-set-to-collapse/#comment-822 Hi Andy, thanks for the comment. Totally agree that at their core, widgets are just a (re)distribution mechanism. With this in mind, using your newspaper analogy: widgets are more akin to someone taking several different newspapers, cutting out & photocopying some stuff from each, and then sticking it in a folder and giving it to you. If the person doing the photocopying is someone you trust, someone who knows what you want to read, then great. The service (widget) is useful. But if the person doing the clipping & copying is only copying the ads & advertorials, then all you get is a folder full of rubbish, the parts of the paper you never would have read anyway. I'm not saying there is a decline in widgets; quite the opposite! What I am mourning is the sad ratio of crap to value that seems to be happening with widgets. Perhaps in future, once the novelty has worn off, we will be left with nothing but quality. But I think that's an optimistic and idealistic view. Hi Andy, thanks for the comment. Totally agree that at their core, widgets are just a (re)distribution mechanism. With this in mind, using your newspaper analogy: widgets are more akin to someone taking several different newspapers, cutting out & photocopying some stuff from each, and then sticking it in a folder and giving it to you. If the person doing the photocopying is someone you trust, someone who knows what you want to read, then great. The service (widget) is useful. But if the person doing the clipping & copying is only copying the ads & advertorials, then all you get is a folder full of rubbish, the parts of the paper you never would have read anyway.

I’m not saying there is a decline in widgets; quite the opposite! What I am mourning is the sad ratio of crap to value that seems to be happening with widgets. Perhaps in future, once the novelty has worn off, we will be left with nothing but quality. But I think that’s an optimistic and idealistic view.

]]> By: Andy http://www.usingmyhead.com/2008/10/30/is-the-new-widgetised-online-culture-set-to-collapse/comment-page-1/#comment-821 Andy Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:14:56 +0000 http://www.usingmyhead.com/2008/10/30/is-the-new-widgetised-online-culture-set-to-collapse/#comment-821 Miko, perhaps I don't get it. Widgets are just the distribution mechanism: repackaging content in a widget makes the widget as valuable as the content. Some might argue that 90% of what is printed in newspapers is rubbish but that's not leading to a collapse in paper. Widgets are often created for advertising, in fact there is an industry that create games and make lots of money doing it. Companies that have been set up to create widgets for advertising seems to be doing well: http://www.tumri.com/about/press-releases/02-02-09.html I think the decline in widgets is wishful thinking when they are just about to become more commercial. Miko, perhaps I don’t get it. Widgets are just the distribution mechanism: repackaging content in a widget makes the widget as valuable as the content. Some might argue that 90% of what is printed in newspapers is rubbish but that’s not leading to a collapse in paper.
Widgets are often created for advertising, in fact there is an industry that create games and make lots of money doing it. Companies that have been set up to create widgets for advertising seems to be doing well:
http://www.tumri.com/about/press-releases/02-02-09.html
I think the decline in widgets is wishful thinking when they are just about to become more commercial.

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