Panel Discussion Notes

Selected Live Notes from The Future of Web Apps Summit Steve Olechowski - FeedBurner - announcing open API to Feed Flare Question: Is the future of the web primarily about solving small problems with highly focused tools? More tools, loosely joined. Small apps acting on mostly local data.. would be useful to have different tools act on the same data (Steffen Meschkat). Example of calendar, files and email messages all in same In Box. Functionality from wide variety of sources integrated/embedded into single page. Single sign-ons? Most people use same password everywhere, and apps remember passwords, so problem isn't so big (David Heinemeier Hanson). Email as identifier and authentication key mailed (Joshua Schachter). Question: Should web apps be designed like desktop apps? Consistency or pretty, unique interfaces? We'll see desktop apps designed more like Web Apps (Joshua). Something different about apps which operate in a more public space, the context is different (Tom Coates). Whole class of new user who has come to apps through the web, older paradigms less familiar to them (Steve Crossan). Network applications already there, but it's when we can assume the network connection that things will shift (Tom). Paradigm shifts return (network as computer) but each time there's more infrastructure on which to build (Steve C). Business Models and pricing: What would you pay for this? People happy to pay for something they enjoy or love (David). Determining what market can bear, barrier for entry - eliminate people who would be hard to support (Shaun Inman). Question: How much re-engineering on transition from prototype/beta to scalable app? Constantly re-building as stuff breaks (Cal Henderson). No way you can build scalable upfront without the real experience. Betas are bullshit, everything is constantly rebuilding (David). Question: How do you know you're ready to launch? Can you use that app everyday? Is it ready to use everyday? Then you're ready (David). Question: VCs or bootstrapping? Are you building for the future or an app for right now? If you're building an app for right now then it's never been easier to build a business with the money you're getting in from the business (David). Question: Web 2.0 happening because of standards being in place, or because of a paradigm shift in the way we think about things? Dominant Metaphors come up, seeing this re-emerge, social networking, connecting services. W2.0 not tech dependent (Tom) We now have atomic apps that can work well together (Steve O). Critical mass of tools that allow these ideas to work together quickly, even if the ideas come around (Steve C), and successful models (Tom) Question: Where does Accessibility fit into Web 2.0? AJAX as an approach presents some potetial difficulties but at same time a drive towards more standard code, better built site. Takes a couple of years for this to be figured out (Tom). Accessibility is v. important, but the real world sometimes doesn't allow for perfect execution (Ryan). Can build perfectly accessible AJAX pages in principle, just aas you can build poorly accessible HTML (Steffen). Question: are we going to have different forms of commercial agreements? - interelatedness of services. The API is a contract, though not a legal contract. Will see a lot more connected apps with no legal agreement (Joshua). You have to know an API is secure if you're building a business on it, lawyers probably not the solution, but some sort of uptime agreements - going to be fun :-) (Tom) Question: web app companies with revenue upfront, and others build critical mass first.. how do you balance this? Social software needs critical mass, so they can't charge users upfront (Tom). Keep costs low, get money elsewhere so you can scale it. You can build things very cheaply and work out how you can monetise later (Steve C). More interesting apps being created within the constraint of having to attract users who will pay for them (David). Google seen as web search but they make their money through advertising.. but this wouldn't be possible without the search (Steve O).

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