I think that software designed with a grand, overarching plan is doomed to failure. I think the best software starts small, and grows with the needs of the people who use it.
Small software affects people's lives in important ways all the time. I think LJ is a great example. LJ is not small now, but it started that way. The people who make it have had to grow the software, and be very careful about the features they add and how they work lest they destroy the community. I think LJ, and things like it, are having a huge impact on people's ability to create and maintain social networks.
For example, I think because of LJ I will be able to build a network of friends here in Seattle within a couple of years that would've taken me 10 years to build before something like LJ. That's not a small impact. And it's an impact that relies on things like Apache, Linux, perl, and XML that don't seem to have any obvious effect on the lives of the average person.
But, I agree, software people could get a lot better at what they do. And I also agree with you that the field is ratherly over self-congratulatory.
I think that software designed with a grand, overarching plan is doomed to failure. I think the best software starts small, and grows with the needs of the people who use it.
Small software affects people's lives in important ways all the time. I think LJ is a great example. LJ is not small now, but it started that way. The people who make it have had to grow the software, and be very careful about the features they add and how they work lest they destroy the community. I think LJ, and things like it, are having a huge impact on people's ability to create and maintain social networks.
For example, I think because of LJ I will be able to build a network of friends here in Seattle within a couple of years that would've taken me 10 years to build before something like LJ. That's not a small impact. And it's an impact that relies on things like Apache, Linux, perl, and XML that don't seem to have any obvious effect on the lives of the average person.
But, I agree, software people could get a lot better at what they do. And I also agree with you that the field is ratherly over self-congratulatory.
Reply
Leave a comment