I read somewhere recently how web developers (designers, usability people etc) are far more important that they are given credit for. I’m not going to disagree 😉 The thinking is that in this increasingly web-centric world we live in, the people building the web are the ones who hold the power.
That isn’t so hard to understand. After all, the people who held the power during the Industrial Revolution were the ones developing steam power. Back a few more millennia and the ones holding the power were the ones developing fire. Power isn’t just about physical brute strength, power is about knowledge. And without the knowledge of the increasingly numerous ranks of web workers the Digital Revolution ain’t going to change a thing.
Which makes Patrick Kennedy’s article all the more true. We do hold the power to shape the future. The web is changing everything, this web we hold in our hands and shape with our fingers. It’s changing politics, fashion, entertainment, commerce, communication – hell, it’s changing what it means to be one human in a world of other humans.
So the question is, how wisely are we using our power?