The Web, Evolved (and You)

Posted by Dave in General Aug 23rd, 2009 | Comments

“Hello, my name is Dave.”

“Hello Dave, nice to meet you… so what do you do, anyway?”

“I work as a Web Developer over at Sparkfire.”

“Oh, cool.”

This is inevitably followed by a blank stare. It’s at this point which I’m always torn, do I go off on some suitable explanation of “web developer”, or do I just move on. Sometimes I use the word “programmer”, which seems to give non-techies a better picture, but I try to avoid the (unfortunate) nerd stigma as often as possible. Fact is, I help make the web work, writing custom-made software that runs on the web. As you may know, the web is a network of computers that has rapidly matured into a platform for providing all kinds of services. You probably use many of them: shopping at Amazon, auctioning at eBay, checking your email on GMail or Yahoo, searching the web with Google, IMing friends or networking on Facebook, checking your bank balance and paying bills online; they’re all applications that run on the web, built by web developers.

Sun Microsystems, most prominently known for their development of Java, says “The Network is the Computer”, and it’s true. What good is your computer if the internet is out? I don’t even bother to sit down at mine if my internet service happens to be out. The web was originally built as a method of sharing textual information, a task at which it still excels, but is has grown to be far more than that. The web has advanced so much in fact, that in the near future it is even poised to replace giants like cable television, print newspaper, broadcast radio and landline telephones for a very large portion of the consumer base.

The modern web is a highly visual medium, and is fertile ground for advertising and sales. Marketing agencies and the businesses they serve have quickly embraced this new platform as an incredibly powerful, interactive, and cost effective 24/7 outlet for reaching customers. Due to its interactive nature, marketing agencies need programmers to make the web work, to make it do things besides display unchanging text and pictures.

Life moves quickly, arguably faster in technology that anywhere else. The web is at the cutting edge of this tide. It’s therefore advantageous for companies to understand and consider the possibilities of web applications when they approach a marketing company that offers them. Just like traditional software, web applications can be built to offer almost any sort of functionality you can imagine. From processing sales, tracking conversation rates, and promoting customer feedback to managing customer databases and more. Web applications are the most cost effective way of increasing efficiency for any business.

Web development is a custom-tailored solution, so be sure to include questions about development in your dialog with a marketing agency. Consider it more than just a website, more than a brochure online; it is a tool, an organism, a machine that works for your company, it has no limits as it is naturally an extension of the abilities and functions of those who create it (by way of us, that’s you!). Programming is about solving problems, so when you consider a website or web application for your business, consider the problems that you have, inefficiencies that slow you down, or abilities that you don’t yet have at all, and see if they can’t be solved with a web-based application.