From the Internet to the Next Web
Burt Kaliski | Jun 02, 2012Two decades ago, when I was part of a startup company in the pre-web-era, we developed software on a local network of PCs and workstations, distributed it to our customers on 3-1/2” disks, and documented it in printed volumes – and for our very advanced customers, made it available for download via FTP. The pace of change was much slower in that less-connected world.
Nowadays, as one of the moderators of the recent TNW2012 conference opined, "One coder, one weekend, some pizza, a lot of coffee, and you'll build something."
My decision to attend the TNW2012, a conference on innovation in the “next-web” era, hosted in Amsterdam by the online publisher The Next Web, started with a tweet announcing that Kyle York, an executive from one of the start-ups I follow on Twitter, would be speaking there. I was already scheduled to be in Switzerland the same week to meet with employees in Verisign’s Fribourg office and to participate in the Internet Society’s Global INET conference in Geneva where I spoke on the closing panel.
After taking a look at the TNW2012 agenda to see who else was attending, I was able to extend my trip for a few more days so I could attend the conference and meet with technology partners in The Netherlands.
I’m glad I did.
TNW2012 and the Internet Society’s 20th Anniversary celebration at Global INET were fitting complements. Internet followed by web Infrastructure, then applications. Open architecture, open innovation. An event honoring Hall of Fame inductees, and a cow “honoring” a startup. What more could I ask for?
If good stewardship of the Internet depends on understanding the objectives of stakeholders, then it’s especially important to learn how the next generation of developers is using the Internet to build new applications. I get the sense that many of these developers take the Internet for granted – that domain names just resolve into IP addresses; that IP addresses just route to their destinations, and that nothing in the middle gets in the way. That’s a good thing, because it means that developers can just focus on innovating at the higher layers – just as two decades ago, I could take for granted that a local network of PCs and workstations, 3-1/2” disks, and overnight delivery would work (and yes, FTP). A successful Internet infrastructure service is the one you don’t notice, it just works.
History reminds us, however, that service providers shouldn’t take for granted that what just works today is what applications will need in the future. Innovation is essential here at this level. When is the last time you used a 3-1/2” disk?
Some of my favorite quotes from the conference were on innovation, as recounted in my tweets below:
Werner Vogels @werner, CTO Amazon, #tnw2012:Cloud services essential to innovation -- when you kill a project, cost of failure is minimal
— Burt Kaliski Jr. (@modulomathy) April 25, 2012
"Business models must be based on crowds ... Innovation must go beyond the organization." Ross Dawson, futurist #tnw2012
— Burt Kaliski Jr. (@modulomathy) April 25, 2012
Mark Randall @markran #tnw2012:Innovation needs both "starters" and "finishers" -- different skill sets
— Burt Kaliski Jr. (@modulomathy) April 25, 2012
"Creativity works through individuals" not crowds.Genius, humanness is individual.-- Andrew Keen @ajkeen #tnw2012
— Burt Kaliski Jr. (@modulomathy) April 25, 2012
Dave Wiskus @dwiskus #tnw2012:Start by sharing the "bad version" of an idea and get everyone in the company involved in improving it
— Burt Kaliski Jr. (@modulomathy) April 27, 2012
Individuals may come up with the most creative ideas, but if you want to find a creative individual, or to enable one to find you, you need to reach out more broadly. Crowds help. At an industry level, while individual companies may lead in creativity, an open, collaborative ecosystem best helps an industry sustain these companies and move forward in bringing value to end-users.
Starting these ideas and companies is a lot easier today, and it’s exciting to think about what will come next as is it certainly much easier for a creative individual to, on a weekend, write some code on the foundation of more advanced Internet infrastructure services that has the capacity to impact the future. Because as Robert Scoble of Rackspace said at TNW2012, "The future is already here. It's just not put together yet."
What’s the next application you’d like to see?
