Joel Spolsky and Web Worker Daily
There have just been two brilliant articles written that I’d like to pass on as must reads if you’re into web application development or Information Technology management. The first is Joel Spolsky’s Strategy Letter IV which deconstructs the business case for writing an AJAX SDK that kicks arse - I particularly like the way he goes into historic detail to explain how we evolved through phases of computers and how Lotus 1-2-3 lost market share. If you’re an entrepeneur, programmer or simply interested in where the industry is headed Joel’s article is really good.
Second, and this one is from my nowdays favourite information site, the Web Worker Daily has posted Does your CEO Get Web 2.0? - its something I find particularly frustrating with government. Do they understand Web 2.0? Really? The suggested path for informing them is by
- recapping the basics - Web 2.0 is about the customer wanting a say
- own up to the fact your corporate site sucks
- explain that it isn’t a single great step (Mao’s Great Leap Forward - NO)
- suggest a next step which is reasonably fast and achievable
- finally, don’t whinge when you’re doing it
It frustrates me with government to see people not wanting to understand the public (who pay the bills) deserve a best practice solution not an inaccessible and badly designed mash of content management angst. Step 2 was to own up that your corporate site sucks right? Citizens do deserve accessible government solutions, in fact I’d suggest considering the amount of tax donated to them citizens deserve best practice and an equal effort to providing them with information and mechanisms to participate in government as one would see going into the design and planning of an urban park area.
I am very passionate about government apathy and their having bad web sites. Why? Because it can be fixed and its in their economic interest to listen to my suggestions about using web standards. The public are not an incidental. The public deserve and require the best that can be provided. The public pay for that after all.
If you’re not onto the Web Worker Daily already I’d highly recommend it as they cover all sorts of tech and web related issues which touch the industry we work in. Joel Spolsky on the other hand writes excellent articles about software engineering so you might get a lot of value out of trolling his archives.
