September 19th, 2008

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Web applications and sites tend to illustrate an insensitivity to human experience. Technologists fascination with technology as something outside of and distinct from humanity points to this lack of sensitivity in the conceptualization and formation of the web technologies. Such a fascination with technology becomes part of the weave of the technology itself. Rather than invisibly serving the needs of people, the technology becomes the subject, and the web serves as a technology “showcase.” web2.0

I used to think that we were at a place to incorporate an appreciation of personhood into the design of web software. By adapting to individual Users, software could then point each User to information and other Users without being specifically requested to do so by a User. I’m now of the opinion that in order to bring about what I refer to as Web2.U technologists will first have to learn more about human nature. Note that ‘human nature‘ is a misnomer!

What does this mean? It means we need to have a far more interactive web. I have been developing software in which the interval for interacting is as immediate as possible, and certainly not on the order of hours or minutes. In fact, I would go so far as to claim that:

A ‘natural interaction’ is one that occurs at a rate that affords the natural flow of emotion for the given interaction.

Kenneth L. Stein

Having such in place will then afford technologists a view of real people having ‘real’ interactions. Then look out, because it’s then we’ll see the emergence of web2.U. I envision it as a personal agent we each have that’ll be able to help point each of us towards other people, information, and even goals that we might otherwise have missed. Talk to my agent will have a whole new meaning.

Until then, because it’s so darn much to effectuate even small change, I’ve put off the ideas for web2.U and have been focusing on the interactive web, developing interactions that occur at a rate that affords the natural flow of emotions for the given interaction. One example is in the form of a posting at my weblog, On Valuing Creative Thinking. Another instantiation is in the form of a game I’m developing with a partner for Facebook.

Additionally, I’ve coded up my site plexAV to serve as a testbed for a technology that I’ve been developing. My goal, “to make apparent to others opportunities they would otherwise have failed to note.”

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