Just another day at the office

There’s nothing magic about the internet.

It’s nothing more than a reflection of the people on it. Where there is a demand for something, someone will supply it. Minority focused search engines? Pornography? The Bible?The Manga Bible?Mexican Hitmen?

Look at my tag cloud – it’s a reflection of my concerns and interests. Look at my blogroll – it’s a reflection of whose words I read. To some extent, its a reflection of which people I know. If it was well organized, this would be even more true

Look at corporate websites – they’re a reflection of the corporations which exist, and, by proxy, the people running those companies. At some point, some CEO asked for more green on the front page of site and the result is the hideousness you see. Why so garish? It’s a reflection of someone, somewhere.

Look at special interest forums – reflections of communities and people with common interests.

Look at Facebook (too simple! ).

What does it say that, when we want to measure the real-world popularity of something, we go to Google to count the search hits?

There’s no magic technology here at the Happy Moron. There’s just a person. Me. I wrote some stuff. I used a computer to post the files to a server somewhere. Oh, and there’s another person. You. (Hi! ) You read some stuff I wrote. You used a computer to read the files off the server.

The magic lives in the people. It always has, always will.

When people wonder how great the internet will become (alternatively, how awesome teh intarwebs will be), they often focus on the technology, which is wrong. It’s not a technical issue, it’s a people issue.

How great can people make the internet? Let’s take a look at some of the other great things people made. The Pyramids. Rome. The USA. The Stock Market. Sliced bread. Dill pickles. Cocktail wieners. Mmm… green and black olives, spiced ham, fresh green lettuce with some parsley and sliced cucumbers in the salad…

Part of the problem is that when people set up to make something great, they get distracted and start thinking about food. Or they fight. Or they betray one another. Or go pray. Or… Or… Or…

The internet will never be any greater than the people behind it.

Now here’s an interesting question – how great could God make the internet? Thoughts?