The web was born years ago and raised as a rather academic youngster. Not yet a teenager, it had the equivalent of a lottery win as venture capitalists and investors threw more money at it than it knew how to spend. Like all youngsters, having no idea of the value of the money, it went out and spent it on fancy cars (or the internet geek equivalent). The problems had begun.
Untrained people
Perhaps we should just be amazed that the damned thing works at all. It sets itself a pretty amazing target – seamlessly connecting every computer in the world, most of which are operated by untrained people, many of whom have trouble working out how to operate their microwave.
Take just the basics. To access the web you have to have a working PC and a working connection to the internet. You have to have bandwidth on that connection sufficient for your computer to download the text, pictures and files you need. Finally, you need to know the name of the website where the information you want is stored.
In the absence of any of these factors, you are in trouble.
To illustrate this last point: have you ever seen an advertisement on a poster site or in a magazine and thought, "I'll have a look at their website when I get home."? Recalling it hours later there are pitfalls by the dozen. Was it a "dot-com" or a "dot-co-dot-uk"? Could it even have been "dot-uk-dot-co"? Was there a hyphen in the middle of the address? How, exactly, did the company spell its name?
The web is anarchic. There is no moderation, no meaningful system of validation and no regular review of content
Technical standards
The bandwidth issue remains a problem for most serious users. While it is easy enough to view simple text information, sites increasingly offer the ability to download documents. Add the increased use of rich visual images and video, and the low bandwidth connections most individuals and small businesses possess become unworkable. Meanwhile, the availability of technologies offering fast access (ADSL and others) is pitifully low.
Not a problem, you say. Larger businesses have expert IT departments which can ensure that all of the infrastructure is in place. Everything is tightly defined by technical standards, and therefore everything works just fine. Well, maybe. Some businesses have Internet Explorer as a web browser, while others have Netscape Navigator. Others insist on using less well-known browsers, such as "Opera" (which originates in Norway). Each of these exists in many versions, and there is no requirement for users to upgrade to the latest one. And they don't all operate consistently. We won't even touch on the complexities of the browser "plug-ins".
What else can I add to this growing list of issues? Well, the web is anarchic. Any individual can set up a website that will then compete with the websites of specialists, professionals or even multinationals. There is no moderation, no meaningful system of validation and no regular review of content. A website can offer an expert view on a subject and be well-presented and convincing, but ultimately just plain wrong.
Also, let us say a website delivers a service you are interested in. You commit time and money in learning how to use it and in training your staff and then – boom, it goes out of business with minimal warning. The site's third, fourth or fifth round of funding has failed to come through.
In short, it is amazing that the web has reached even the level of popularity it now enjoys. We have a host of badly observed technical standards, hard-to-find information and services of unknown quality on websites which might cease to exist tomorrow. Suddenly the collapse in internet company share prices seems all too rational.
Source
Construction Manager
Postscript
David McAll is publisher of e-construct.com. He was head of Gleeds' IT operations and was a senior IT risk consultant with Risk Decisions