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Symbiosis and Specialization

Sun, June 17th, 2007 by Jamie Folsom | 1 comment

Web "Ecology"

Among the most interesting recent developments on the web, is that big fish, like FaceBook, Amazon, Google and Yahoo, and dozens of smaller ones have adopted some similar behaviors. 

• Symbiosis: "Service-Oriented" applications, that can cooperate;
• Specialization: Focused, single-, or limited-purpose programs reduce duplicated effort, and functionality

As Tom's post about Facebook makes it clear, these innovations can be powerful strategic advantages for companies and organizations. They attract users, they draw attention, they position the company relative to its rivals. It's also worth reflecting on how these changes are, or are not relevant to those of us that use the web to build community and to connect with each other.

The Model T

When the Model T, and the assembly line behind it, were first introduced, it put Ford Motor on the map forever. But what did it do for drivers, mechanics, and the US landscape? Web services are as important an innovation in web application development as the assembly line was to automobile manufacture.

Can't we still make web sites, and web applications, from scratch? What's the advantage to us, as users, and builders, of web sites, of paying attention to these specialized, symbiotic, web service providers? I think it's an opportunity for us to be more specialized, and symbiotic, as well.

If you're a designer, with an idea for a web application, it's likely you can build it more easily now than you ever could before. That's not to say you don't need to learn new skills; it would suggest you would need to think differently about which new skills to learn. Instead of learning and writing HTML, you might learn to aggregate and filter RSS feeds. 

We want your input

720 Strategies is building a training program to help you learn what you need to know to take advantage of the new breed of web applications, and we want your input.

We have lots of ideas, and there are lots of questions. How can we best share successful strategies, and learn from mistakes? What makes a web site or service grow, flourish and bear fruit? All important questions. But for now, here's one simple question. 

Given a choice of several topics, what would you most like to learn more about:

1. Online video
2. Podcasting
3. Running a successful blog
4. Google maps
5. Care and feeding of a mailing list
6. Other (please specify)
   

Use the comments field to post your reply. We can't wait to hear what you have to say.

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