looking back at Multimedia II - part 2

Our class is built around success as a user and content provider on the www.  Last time I was on this subject I ended by raising the potential of achieving nirvana in web communications (a much promised state….if you “buy” my software) and efficiency in web communication, i.e. spending yotta pixels and electrons but saving trees.   Not only saving trees, but what about all those postage stamps?  Why didn’t the US Postal Service dream up Pixelpipe? 

Setting aside all the typical political complaints (from the tea party and libertarians), it probably is a case of marketing myopia and the inertia of a huge organization.  The USPS knew it was in the information delivery business, but it never took advantage of the potential of the net. It is probably safe to say kilos of companies failed this way, even many that were trying hard to make web access into a money machine.  So it is really hard to succeed in a business way on the net.

What did work was megas of small entrepreneurs developing small applications that added up to communication connectivity that was quick, wide spread and usually cheap (not free).  Large organizations are all about planning but nobody really planned much of the internet beyond hardware needs.  That lack of planning helped get us where we are today. And that thought reminds me of how we use and create our web presence: just dive in  and find a way that works for you.