Dan’s Blog (2.0)

Google Docs (née “Writely”) and Spreadsheets have graduated. Two weeks ago, Google quietly moved Google Spreadsheets and the newly christened Google Docs over from one side of the Google Labs page to the other (the “graduated” products). No big announcement , and the products remain tagged as Beta (but what isn’t these days?).

I’ve been using Google Spreadsheets for a few months now, as a simple issue/action-tracking tool for one project and as a means to track sponsorships for the mobile2.0 event I’ve been organizing.

When I first heard about Google Spreadsheets, I remember shrugging my shoulders. Sure, it was a cool idea to run a spreadsheet inside the browser and it showed off Google’s Ajax mojo, but what, really, was the point? Excepting the cool factor, why would I ever use this instead of good old trusty Excel? My “ah ha” moment came when I discovered the powerful collaboration features. The ability for multiple contributors to collaborate on the same spreadsheet a
the same time and view each others’ work in near-real-time, using nothing but an off-the-shelf browser is a quantum leap.

In the case of mobile2.0, it’s enabled me to quickly collaborate with partners distributed in different time zones and to be sure that we’re all looking at the same information at the same time. This is the kind of collaboration the Internet was built to support, but somehow the big IT vendors have not been able to bring it to us.

But what does any of this have to do with widgets? At the Fundamentos Web conference which I spoke at earlier in the month, W3C’s Dean Jackson presented a vision for the future of widgets (the semi-ubiquitous desktop mini-applications - Microsoft calls them “gadgets” - that generally run inside a browser engine and are developed using Web technologies such as JavaScript and HTML).

In Dean’s vision of the future, widgets, or at least the packaging of widgets, become standardized so that a widget written for one engine (say Apple’s Dashboard) can work in any other (Opera’s widget engine, for example). Futhermore, as widgets become increasingly complex, they will become unbound from the Widget engine so that, from a user perspective, they can appear as fully fledged applications.

So… if you take Google Docs & Spreadsheets with all their collaboration power, combined with a standardized and enhanced widget framework and unbound from the browser and widget engine, let me ask a simple question. Why would I ever use Microsoft Excel or Word again?

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 9:34 under Web 2.0

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You know — I used to be the kind of guy who sneered at people who said things like “Web 2.0″ or “whatever 2.0.” I still am. I am not by nature a joiner. For the longest time in the mid-nineties I resisted using the indefinite article in front of the word email (as in “I’ll send you an email.”) I still believe the word email is not a singular noun. “I’ll send you email” is correct. “I’ll send you an email” is incorrect. I always have to apologize in advance if I use the word “leverage” or “synergy” in a meeting. I have always found jargon fascinating, in that using jargon tends to shut people out - to create exclusive clubs. I prefer inclusive modes of working and I believe that in general it’s worth the time to explain yourself in plain language rather than using jargon.

So anyway, when I first heard this term “Web 2.0″ I thought “what a load of crap.” But then when I read the article and heard a few presentations and started to talk to people about it, the term clicked. And it has clicked with enough people that it’s become a useful way to talk about a set of topics in one breath. I still think it’s a bit silly and when I use it, I do so with a dash of irony, but I do use it.

Aside from “Web 2.0″ people have not started adding 2.0 to anything to make a point that that thing has evolved into something different. In some ways, 2.0 has taken the place of “Extreme!” especially in tech circles.

But what’s next? Calling the evolution of X “X 2.0″ is a meme that has nearly played itself out. I say “nearly,” because I’m obviously trying to ride the wave of this meme with the mobile2.0 event. But when 2.0 jumps the shark, what’s next?

What’s “2.0″ 2.0?

All I can say that I hope it’s not 3.0. That would be extremely silly and disappointing.

Unfortunately, I already see people jumping on the “Web 3.0″ bandwagon. I don’t think we have enough of “Web 2.0″ under our belts yet to imagine “what comes next.” The Web took about 10 years to mature as a medium and by my arbitrary measurement (when blogging became the hot topic at the U.S. Democratic national convention) we are only 2 years into “Web 2.0.” Let’s let Web 2.0 steep a little more before declaring it a done deal.

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 16:27 under Web 2.0

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Wow! So now in addition to the mobile2.0 I’ve been organizing on the 6th of November, it looks like I’ll also be on a panel entitled “The Mobile Discussion” at the Web 2.0 conference on the 7th. Looks like it’s going to be quite an exciting week. I’m not quite sure what brought about this change of heart on behalf of the O’Reilly folks, but I’m really glad to see them bringing some mobile focus and interest into the event. Of course, to get the full scoop on the future of the mobile platform, you really need to come to mobile2.0 the day before. Luckily, the cost of mobile2.0 is only $45 so if you’ve already splashed out for Web 2.0 you won’t need to spend much more to attend mobile 2.0 as well.

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 23:22 under Web 2.0

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The Web2.0 conference is fast approaching. Once again, we will hear industry leaders like Jeff Bezos, Ray Ozzie and Vint Cerf ruminate on the future of the Web. But where, amongst all the trendy social network and media sharing hipsters, can you hear about the intersection of the Web and the Mobile platform? On this topic, the conference program is strangely silent. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s going to be a great event. I’m going to be there and I am sure I will take away a lot from it, but what if you believe, as I do, that the future of the Web and the future of the mobile phone are integrally linked?

Enter … mobile2.0: the event.

Mike Rowehl (the organizer of Mobile Monday Silicon Valley) and I have been quietly putting this event together over the past month in an attempt to bring some Mobile thinking into “Web2.0 week.” We’ll be focusing on topics like the growth of the mobile Web / mobile Internet, open services, media sharing on the mobile, mobile widgets, mobile Ajax, content adaptation and disruptive innovations in the mobile space. Peter Vesterbacka, the creator of Mobile Monday Helsinki, will be running a segment called “Mobile Launch Pad” where we will showcase small company innovation in the Mobile Space.

It’ll be a day-long event, held at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco (near Union Square), starting with breakfast at 8:30 (a bit early I know, but we have a lot of material to get through!) and ending with a reception at the hotel. I’m very excited to report that we already have a star line-up of speakers and panellists for the event from all sectors of the industry.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the future of the Mobile platform then I urge you to register for the event and join us in San Francisco on the 6th!

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 11:55 under Mobile Monday, Mobile Web

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I’m back in the UK after almost 10 days in Spain. We held the Mobile Web Initiative Best Practices meeting where much good work was done. I sampled the famous cider of the Asturias region. I drove to Bilbao and visited the Guggenheim (and met with our great Spanish R&D folks). I spoke at Fundamentos Web on the topic of the Mobile Web and as a bonus I got to meet lots of Internet notables, such as Ben Hammersley, Chris Wilson and Dave Shea (I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy). All in all, not a bad trip. Lots of photos on Flickr (uploaded using ShoZu, of course) and more thoughts later after I have a chance to recuperate.

Filed by Daniel Appelquist at 19:47 under Travel, Web

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