Thomas Vander Wal - an IAs perspective

Thomas Vander Wal - an IAs perspective

• In: Uncategorized
• By: maxine
• August 4th, 2006

In the areas that interest you about the web, what has changed the

most in the last couple of years, and what do you see changing most

in the next couple?

The biggest change I have been noticing on the web is a change of its usage.

The web has been shifting from a destination spot to a container and content

terminal (like a train station). The increased use of RSS/ATOM and other

feeds has created a transition for how people find and consume information.

Digital content creators are realizing that the web is just one medium to

hold content and it is increasingly the jumping off point and the

place of permanence that is pointed to. People consuming a site’s content

may read it on their mobile device in an RSS reader, but when the

information is shared and pointed to, it is the web pages for the content that

are the end point. This shift requires well structured pages that can be

easily parsed and reconfigured. Standards compliant pages can be parsed

mechanically with a script and ported to another format that meets the needs

of the person consuming the information.