Confession: I don’t know everything there is to know about the internet. I did not invent it, nor have I been programming “since before there were almost browsers.” Compared to the true pioneers of the field–those who were hacking away at CSS in 1998 and handcoding homepages before there were blogrolls–I am a novice and a follower. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The speed of progress overwhelms me. I can’t even compete in the race, much less hope to lead it. I’m happy to leave it to others to blaze my trails in online space. I will follow on roads well-paved, benefiting from their proverbial berry bushes and their fully-functioning software upgrades. (Anyone critical of my policy either knows javascript better than I do or has never attempted it.)
The “backend” of the web can be tangled and frustrating. As can the user end, at times. Certainly our darling world wide web has not achieved perfection in the mere 17 years of its existence. I am completely empathetic to wanting to avoid the associated “growing pains.” What I can’t understand is the seemingly widely-held business philosophy that it is better to remain ignorant and lose money than it is to become educated and be profitable.
Exhibit A:
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=48997
It’s not as though the online category is waiting to reach critical mass. Seventy percent of North America was online last month, and not JUST checking email. They were browsing, learning, purchasing. Done properly, online advertising is a SURE bet: Pricing is aggressive, media is accountable, results are immediate. Done improperly, well, what is a sure bet when done improperly?
And yet… and yet, my friends, online is STILL BEHIND outdoor. Outdoor ads which may or may not be accomplishing ANYTHING, other than giving the CEO a happy feeling as he drives past his ad on his way to the office.
We are celebrating a step that should have been made a LONG time ago. Not an altruistic step or even an altruistic “should”– this is about capitalism and making profitable decisions. We are talking about “the bottom line” with people who only understand “the bottom line.” But they don’t. They understand fear of change, and so they don’t make good decisions, or fear of being left behind, and so they make bad decisions.
Yes, yes, at least we are getting there. Thanks to those who so boldly have paved the way. Hopefully we won’t stay this far behind forever.
