Getting Real Close Now (tm) - Mantra For the Web 2.0

Yesterday was an exciting day for strange reasons. We didn’t necessarily write lots of new and interesting code (we did) but more so because we finally saw the clearing in the field and we know we’re on our way home now.

It was during one of those jovial little chats Duane and I have all day that this gem floated up:

(16:59:04) canadaduane: Yeah, it's getting Real Close Now
(16:59:05) canadaduane: hehe
(16:59:13) MadMonkNYC: Real Close Now(tm)
(16:59:36) canadaduane: Sorry, you can't use that
(16:59:39) canadaduane: I had prior art
(16:59:44) MadMonkNYC: it's company property
(16:59:45) MadMonkNYC: haha
(16:59:47) canadaduane: hehe
(17:00:00) MadMonkNYC: i'm contributing my contribution to sync
(17:00:04) MadMonkNYC: open source
(17:00:10) MadMonkNYC: GPL
(17:00:15) canadaduane: lol
(17:00:24) MadMonkNYC: copy left, creative commons

Despite the real humor in this (well, it’s funny to us anyway), I really think this is a large part of this new fangled Web 2.0 Mantra. Here’s just a few ways we’re Getting Real Close Now^TM.

Getting Real Close Now^TM To Launch

I’ll start with this one since it’s what inspired the phrase. There’s probably thousands of lonely developers (sometimes loosley coupled together) that are stealthily toiling away building their new mashup, bangup project or application. Some days, we move forward barely at all and it frustrates the heck out of us. Other days, someone beats us to the punch and forces us to evaluate our current position. But some days, just some, we really plow ahead and make great strides.

It’s those days that we remember the most. Those are the days we see what we’re doing can really happen. Those are the days that we’re Getting Real Close Now. Every Web 2.0 Sign-Up page has it in invisible text - it’s the promise we’re all making: “Hold Tight. We’re Getting Real Close Now^TM.”

Getting Real Close Now^TM To Users

The apps we’re working on, like so many others, are really personalizing the experience for the user. We’re no longer constantly in the bug-squashing war, we’re in the Collaborative Design Olympics. Products are borne from an itch but it’s largely our users that are providing the ointment.

We’re acknowledging openly that we don’t have all the answers but also that we are willing to seek them out together. Some call this the Democratization of this or that, others call it the truth, and a small, but powerful minority still calls it hogwash. You’re reading this most likely because you accept one of the former explanations.

Getting Real Close Now^TM To The UnDesktop

No look at what’s happening out there in Web 2.0 land would be completed without mention of its hot cousin, AJAX. For years those who did DHTML were working on solutions to make the web more Desktop-like. Lots of us were very successful (since we only wrote for IE). But it never got the buzz it needed.

Now, we’re in a plane where “If it don’t shake and fade, it don’t stick”. Interestingly enough, we’ve not necessarily fully embraced that we HAVE TO be like the desktop finally appreciating that we have our own medium(s) to work with and that they have their own peculiarities and use patterns that should be embraced and not form-fitted to old molds.

More importantly though, AJAX seems to be raising the awareness of usability and accessibility issues in general and there’s nothing wrong with that!

So that’s my first 3. What else are we Getting Real Close To Now?

P.S. We hope you’re moving forward on your own. Spread the Word!