There was a time when there was a small group of early adopters when it came to web tools. Wow has that changed. Now everyone is desperate to be an early adopter. Although maybe it’s not a change – maybe I’m just now really seeing it. Whether it’s a new trend or not, I find it extremely annoying.
When I worked at Website Magazine, it quickly became apparent to me that new tools, startups were announced every day. The web has turned into the goldmine for entrepreneurs. It’s relatively cheap to start a web company – compared to a traditional brick-and-mortar company. In addition, investors want to spend their money with the next Google, Facebook and Twitter. They don’t want to miss out on investing in the next big thing – and entrepreneurs want to be that next big thing.
At Website Magazine, I interviewed many of these web entrepreneurs and the one common theme was the goal to create something innovative and then sell it for a lot of money. One entrepreneur once told me: “Why create these web startups unless your goal is to sell them?” It definitely a different business than our country might be used to – but it’s the animal we are dealing with now.
In the last few months, the interwebs have been abuzz with new tools like Quora and recently Google Plus. While I will not deny joining these sites, I will tell you my goal was to join them and see what they were all about. It’s almost instantaneously that a new tool is announced that you read and hear about it everywhere – including the local news. People react instantly: This is next big thing! Well, maybe not. Just because it’s new and shiny, doesn’t mean it’s going to provide value to your daily life.
When I report on technology for the building industry, one thing I always keep in mind is that brand new products might not be ready for use and implementation right away. Second, third and fourth generation products are usually better than first generation products. This is something we need to keep in mind when it comes to the daily announcement of web tools. Just because it’s new and shiny doesn’t mean it’s going to work properly.
Though I love to see the innovation that comes from web entrepreneurs, I think we’ve quickly turned into a society that is easily distracted by “new and shiny.” We need to put the skepticism back into our evaluations of new tools in order to really understand if tools are worthy.
July 14th, 2011 on 10:10 am
Well said. I too like the new stuff – but take caution that first generation tools are just that — improvements will be coming soon. Gotta put it out there so the developers can tweek and retweek to something amazing. By the way – I think Google+ could have some legs. I thought it was clunky in the beginning – after playing with it however, its growing on me.
July 14th, 2011 on 3:54 pm
The thing is, new and shiny is fun. If the penalty for disappointment is minimal, why not try it out? I’m not going to be an early adopter of expensive hardware very often, if ever, but I’ll readily try out free software, especially if it looks as promising as Google+ does.
Do I leave a trail of abandoned websites and online services in my wake? Yes indeed. But now and then I find something worth keeping, like Twitter. So at the risk of annoying people, I will continue to indulge my fascination with shiny new things–as long as they’re free.
July 14th, 2011 on 3:56 pm
John: I agree about trying them out. I also do try them out for the same reason you mentioned – you might find something worth keeping. My annoyance comes from the constant and quick love of products before we get to really know and understand them.
-Maureen