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Web 3.0 is Value and Ethics |
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Submitted by Teo Graca
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As we move away from the Web 2.0 standard, what is next? Well, as it develops, it is being called Web 3.0, but it still hasn't come into it's own. Sites like Craig's List and WikiPedia have shown us the proper direction, but other leaders in the social networking industry are still floundering and missing certain points of common sense and ease-of-use that we will discuss in this article.
If you look at the history of the web, most of us have come to recognize and hate SPAM. Yet I still see it coming to me from industry leaders. For example, when I receive emails reminders from social networking sites stating that people I used to work with at Lockheed Martin are interested in connecting with me, is that value or SPAM? Well, I worked with exactly 11 people there and when it is suggested that the other 10k+ employees or contractors are trying to connect with me, I realize immediately that these emails aren't coming from people I worked with - these are unsolicited emails - this is SPAM.
What about importing lists from sites like LinkedIn? This is truly valuable, but how can a site implement something like this so it is easy and not potentially malicious? Well, if a site other than LinkedIn asks me for my LinkedIn user name and password to transfer the list, this may be easy and convenient, but it's potentially malicious. As an information architect, I can tell you that there are other ways to do this that are not potentially malicious. Why would a company require your user name and password if they don't have to?
I tend to put the answer to these types of questions into two categories - ignorance or malicious intent. Neither is good, but bad practices through ignorance is much better than bad actions through malicious intent. Since I like to focus on the positive, I tend to give companies and people the benefit of the doubt and like to believe that bad practices are the result of ignorance rather than malicious intent whenever possible. This being said, let's look at some other bad practices that are currently being perpetrated by leaders in the industry.
Another process I find very annoying is when a company offers something for free, sets up a multi-step process and then surprises me with a requirement for payment or credit card information. This is at least deceptive. If something is promoted as free, it should never require a credit card number. Companies should be up front about the process so you can decide whether or not you want to engage the process prior to starting. What I have learned over the years is that if a company opens up the relationship with a requirement for payment before any value is delivered, it almost always ends up being a waste of time.
Another issue at hand that I ran into in 1998 with MCI is the requirement of installing ActiveX components to experience a web site. Even in 1998, the technology was available to provide most functionality without forcing people to install software on their computers. Let's take Webinars as an example. There is absolutely no reason to force people to install something to participate in a Webinar. Technologies have been available for many years where companies can build their services in a way that it doesn't require the installation of something to participate. Let's imagine that you attend 20 different Webinars and install 20 different applications on your computer - and then it crashes. It's probably one of those unnecessary programs.
I think as we move forward, Web 3.0 will say that forcing installations unnecessarily to get value and the subtle deceptive practices I have described above will be viewed as unethical.
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