I had an interesting e-mail conversation with my good friend Ted Newkirk about Web 2.0 buzzwords like podcasting, RSS, and other related terms. If you're into technology and follow its trends and advancements, you know these words well. So well in fact that for some people they've become parts of their daily life.
If you're reading this post, chances are you're one of those people who read blogs, listen to podcasts, or know about (and possibly use) RSS. What's easy to forget is that we make up a slim minority of Internet users, and it's important that we keep that perspective in mind.
I hear colleagues in my field say things all the time like “everyone uses RSS” and “of course they'll listen to a podcast”, when in reality, they are only talking about 1-3% of Internet users in general. This isn't to say this small portion is better, it's just different.
The vast majority of Internet users communicate through e-mail almost exclusively and do not use social networking tools or web 2.0 technologies in their daily life. Ted illustrated this point well with this comment:
I watch about 3 hours a week of specialized programming related to business, politics, or Las Vegas (or a combination of the three). This doesn't include podcasts. I'm talking about actual TV shows. It dawned on me that if I just listened to them as a podcast, I could get through them much faster and easier. With TV, you have to be around a TV even if you are just basically listening to the show. Even if you tape it and watch it later, you have to be around the TV.
Naturally, I figured that each of these shows would have a podcast. They are popular shows. Guess what… none of them did. I was amazed. It kind of reminded me that the stuff we take for granted as everyday stuff is ahead of the curve for most people.
What I take from this, and what I think is the most important part of this observation from Ted, is that while it's fine to live in the future and use these exciting new technologies, if you're designing Web 2.0 technologies or thinking about implementing them in your website, it's important to remember that only a small portion of people are using these things. Even though some of these concepts like podcasting and RSS have been around for several years, the general public isn't there yet. To assume that “everyone will use it” or even that they will know how is a mistake.
That said, don't let that stop you from implimenting things. Technology doesn't advance without people to advance it. But true innovation is born out of noticing what people need and providing it for them, not deploying new advancements just for the sake of having them.
