by Aner Ravon
“here is an old bull and a young bull standing on a hill overlooking a field full of young heifers. the young bull says to the old bull “Let’s run down the hill and screw us one of those heifers”. The old bull pauses for a moment and replies ” Let’s walk down the hill and screw them all!” (source: Folk)
I read a great professional book. first in a very very long while. The book is called “Getting Real” by 37Signals and is available as PDF for well worth $19. 37Signals is a privately held, Chicago based company and creator of a variety of web based collaboration apps. If Microsoft is the old bull then 37Signals definitely represent the young and energetic one. Their moto is keep it simple, purify your thoughts, work fast and avoid complications. Their foundation of achieving excellence is constituted on small and harmonious teams, on avoiding all bureaucracy and on not attempting to do the impossible. They construct simple and effective steps to delivering good software quickly in a way that I gladly identify with. Their philosophy is collaborative, their language is simple, their analysis is clear. Most importantly, 37Signals look like a bunch of guys I’d like to be friends with. They don’t take themselves seriously in a very serious and professional way. Even when they over simplify it has a point.
Getting it Real sresses getting it out in the air quickly. Let the people see your product at very early and imperfect stages and they will help you make your product a good one. don’t be afraid of releasing premature software. If you stay honest with your customers, true to your philosophy and focused on doing only what’s necessary - you’ll get there. Don’t spend much time planning ahead. Don’t hire people you don’t absolutely need or that don’t fit your culture. Share your knowledge with others. Don’t bother yourself with scalability. Don’t have a roadmap. Focus on solving real problems that echo consistent pain. Provide direct end user support. Use open source as much as possible, as a philosophy.
Personally, I identify with all these values. Barrier to entry is an over abused terms that too often stands for “we made it so complicated nobody would want to copy it”. I hate software that has an ambition to tame me, like MS Project does. I don’t like overly featured products (almost every CRM I ever used, and ditched) and I am allergic, absolutely allergic, to overloaded one stop shops when it comes to software. One stop shops are capitalism at it’s worst. force-feeding me with features I don’t need only to charge me an obscene amount of money. Obesity isn’t just about food, it can be about software as well.
However, there is a flip side to this “keep it real” philosophy I’m having troubles with. History does seem to reward good master plans, depth and persistence and apparently for good reasons. Some problems challenge in a way very deep research and thorough testing are a must before they can be solved. Some require a quantum leap in terms of technical understanding. Some take generations to solve. It ain’t all that simple and we don’t overcomplicate everything.
So where does the border go? Or perhaps more importantly, on which of it do you belong? Are you the young and energetic bull or are you the old, patient, one? And who’s winning this battle?
My friend Danny Cohen interviewed Talmon Marco, founder if iMesh in his blog. Talmon offers an interesting counter interpretation of the current state of internet applications:
“Web 2.0 is a really term coined by analysts/media (specifically O’Reilly and MediaLive International). It’s a trend that shows that the Web - both from the technology as well as usage side - is evolving. This is normal behavior and happens everywhere there is technology. It’s easier to open a can of coke today, compared to the cans used 20 years ago, Continental has adjustable winged headrests. If you wish, you could call these CokeCans 2.0 and Headrests 2.0.”
If you subscribe to this point of view (and if you are not as smart as Talmon), chances are you’ll retreat to old school habits which worked for ages, and for the wrong reasons. I don’t subscribe to this point of view regardless. I think looking at the internet from such a prism is very limiting. Some things do change the situation completely, way beyond linear evolution. Most such impacts have to do with communications - the phone, radio, TV - these changed the world as we know it. Profoundly. Not just in terms of technology, but in terms of politics, freedom, imperialism, culture, art, diplomacy, entertainment, terror. I happen to believe that we are going through such a stage and that the rules are fundamentally changing. It’s not that the old rules totally do not apply anymore, but that they apply differently. I personally like the 37Signals point of view and hope to draw inspiration from their books and products. And to finish it off, here’s another view of old school software intimidating enemies:
Upon entering a small country store, a stranger noticed a sign saying DANGER! BEWARE OF DOG! posted on the glass door. Inside a harmless old hound dog was asleep on the floor besides the cash register.
He asked the store manager, “Is that the dog folks are supposed to beware of?”
“Yep, that’s him,” he replied.
The amused stranger inquired, “That certainly doesn’t look like a dangerous dog to me. Why in the world would you post that sign?”
The owner responded, “Because, before I posted that sign, people kept tripping over him.”
(Jokes n Jokes)
Aner Ravon
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Danny, thanks for our support (and don’t be modest about one of my favorite blogs you are in charge of)
I agree with both of your insights. Talmon’s record cannot go alongside with old school, in my humble eyes included. My point was that if taken “as is” they can be misleading us to overlooking a phase that in my view is greater than we imagine. A phase web 2.0 is a significant fraction of.
As for your barrier to entry note, I will not add. Excellent, well noted distinction.
04.22.06 @ 8:10 pmFirst came plain HTML (let’s skip the Al Gore part). Then came Javascript. Then came cool buttons you could roll over and have their color change. Then came Google with gmail and moved more logic to the client, and then came Google Maps and actually allowed you to drag the map (yes, they also have the cool shadow). Then came Yahoo and developped (read: acquired) drag and drop and “outlook like” web interface (in beta) and then came writely, and iRows, and….
So.. which of these is Web 2.0? Is gmail web 2.0? Is the new Yahoo web 2.0? Google Maps? Where does Web 1.0 end and where does 2.0 start? We are definetly in a different state of mind today than we were 4-5 years ago about the web. But no one can point at a single event, or technology that seperates 2.0 from 1.0.
And no, you cannot quote Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart and Pornography 
Well, you almost tempted me to claim that “I know web 2.0 when I see it”
Seriously, I am much less concerned with defining two-dot-o vs. two-dot-no. I agree progress is linear and that we come up with labels mostly artificially and in an attempt to justify our own hype. Following years of downturn economy we use that hype in an effort to propel what seems to be a bullish era and rebuild collective faith, but that’s all. With that I don’t argue at all even though I am not sure I find all of it harmful, it has many positive effects even if it’s somewhat artificial.
What I do think, however, is that current times are very significant in a way that is mirrored and echoed by technology. The current state of the Internet (which we call web 2.0 simply for convenience) is very different then it was 3-4 years ago. Fundamentally. Significantly. The immediacy of technology, globalization of development (cultural, not just ecnomic) and usage coupled with advances in personal computing habits have hit the critical mass and have triggered the “small business era”. Let’s think about this for a second - tomorrow’s Google, Amazon, yahoo and yes, iMesh, can be started today by a 22 year old student or by a 40 year old soccer mom. It can start small, be fueled by the community and grow almost infinitely. It can also stay small and be a classic small business. The internet is open for everyone, as a business stage. Is that a revolution, or what?
Now I know there is still a long way to go and we will witness many cycles before this truly shapes, but THIS is much more significant then any specific technical milestone and why I am so excited about it.
04.25.06 @ 8:12 amI believe we are in agreement. The state of the net is indeed different today than it was a few years ago.
The Intenret is starting to mature. It’s coming of age. Usage is different, eCommerce is developping, new business models which were not possible in the “real world” are happening. Google AdWords, for example, makes it possible for a small shop in Arkansas to reach a global audience seeking some bizarre wooden artifact. That’s totally new.
At the same time, investments are more reasonable. Things with no clear revenue sources are priced accordinly and so on.
It’s a new world. If you want to call it Web 2.0, that’s fine. It’s more than AJAX.
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What an excellent post. You definitely stand out compared to many other bloggers (self included). However, I do want to comment on 2 things:
1. Regarding Talmon’s quote, I don’t think it’s about being old school. I think his point of view is not so much about the “2.0″ aspect, but the whole “web 2.0″ buzz, which is getting a lot of press, a bit more than actually deserved.
2. Regarding barriers to entry. I really don’t agree. Well, not really, but I don’t agree that barriers are not important. They are crucial. However, barriers are not only software based. Having complex software can be a barrier, but is usually just an obstacle. If you are right about 37signals, their simplicity is their barrier to entry. Believe me - most startups will have a hard time sticking to the values and mehods that you described.
04.22.06 @ 7:46 pm