Everybody Has All the Power and Everything At Stake

Here’s a little thought about the precarious relationship we live with on the web.

As web developers, we have very little power over the platforms we build on. We’re given what we’re given, we use what we get. We can say what we want, but it may or may not have any influence; there are lots of examples of both directions. We’re like armchair quarterbacks, cheering or jeering that over which we cannot control.

We also have lots of power, especially as a collective. We don’t have to use any particular features. We can do whatever we want. We don’t have to build websites at all. We generally want to use the web because it’s useful for a wide array of objectives, but they are always other means to an end. The web is meaningless without all the people who build sites and maintain them.

The companies that build the platforms are in the same boat. These companies have little power in what the entire industry does. They are at the whim of giant swings in user behavior and sentiment.

Those companies also have lots of power. They can do whatever they want with the platforms. They own them entirely. They make every decision.

Thus, this whole dance has to be symbiotic. There is a lot of incentive on both sides to keep dancing, so we will. But it’s still precarious. Either side can take their ball and go home.

Me, I’m optimistic. The web is very high up the list of the best things human beings have ever done, so let’s keep choosing it and making it better.