Is the Web Different?: mini-essay by David Weinberger

Great mini-essay by David Weinberger available over at his Joho blog.

In Is The Web Different? Weinberger uses a Socratic Dialogue to explore the questions of whether the Web is differnet to any invention that has gone before, whether its mere existence is making our lives different or whether it’s all hype.

To attempt to answer this question Weinbeger gives us three divergent perspectives: the ‘Web Utopian’, ‘Web Realist’ and Web Dystopian’.

While all three views are equally valid and can lay claim to their rightful position based on history and experience of the present, Weinbeger argues that to successfully answer the question all three characters are needed to argue their corner – although ultimately the realists are "essentially wrong".

More specifically we need to

"at least acknowledge the special value [Web Utopians] brings to the conversation. Innovation
requires the realism that keeps us from wasting time on the impossible.
But some of the most radical innovation requires ignoring one’s
deep-bred confidence about what is possible … We thus need utopians to invent the impossible future. And we need lots and lots of them. There is so much to
invent,
and the new forms of association that emerge often only succeed if
there are enough people to embrace them.

Web realists perform the vital function of keeping us from
running down dead ends longer than we need to, and from getting into
feedback loops that distort the innovation process. For those
services, we should thank and encourage the realists. But we should
also
recognize that beyond the particulars, they are essentially wrong."

Can’t argue with that. Especially when it’s so lucidly argued. Great stuff.

Technorati tags: Internet, Hype, Utopianism, David Weinberger