Eviction time part 2
19/09/2007
If you could remove one thing from the internet, what would it be?
Software expert
Wayne Smith
Microsoft
While the obvious answer would probably be spam, in reality I’d like to remove the exclusivity of the internet. In the industry, we throw out terms such as ubiquity and reach, but they’re in no way connected to reality. The internet is still in the hands of those that can either afford it or gain sporadic access to it, whereas those that would most benefit from its social and education aspects are barred. I’m sure Sir Tim envisioned a world with universal access - only then will the internet have achieved its full potential.
Wayne is group product manager for Microsoft Corporation
B3ta guy
Rob Manuel
B3ta
I’d remove all the numerous competing ways there are to communicate with people. I get messages via email, MSN, Google Talk, iChat, Skype and Facebook, and that’s not including the built-in message stuff in YouTube. Oh, and my landline, mobile and text messaging.
You might say “well uninstall this rubbish then, as it makes you unhappy”. But the problem is that different people prefer different systems, and if I want to communicate effectively, it’s better to use the system of their choice.
Please, please, please, software writers of the world, adopt some standards and let’s make these systems talk to each other. Gah.
Rob is co-founder of B3ta, a website that "celebrates the best stuff on the internet"
Technology expert
Graham Cluley
Sophos
HTML email. What bright spark thought that being able to put colours, cartoon fonts and animated graphics into an email was a good idea? Aside from the fact that it’s made email many times larger (don’t these people know there’s a global byte shortage?) and introduced the possibility of embedding malicious script into what should be an utterly benign communication medium, it also aids spammers with their predictable marketing messages about how to improve your performance under the duvet.
Hate’s a strong word, but not quite harsh enough when it comes to my feelings for HTML email. HTML doesn’t look great in all email clients - I have some email addresses that simply cannot render HTML at all, and serves no function other than to keep design teams in trendy glasses employed with their crazy migraine-inducing colour schemes.
It’s not too late to fight back. Forward all HTML email to the dustbin, march in the streets for the revival of mono-spaced courier font, and refuse to read anything that isn’t black on a stark, white background.
Graham is a senior technology consultant at Sophos, a globally recognised security solutions company
Tech journalist
Scott Carney
[Freelancer]
Digg, Boing Boing and porn. OK, that’s three things, but they take up far too much of my time. I shudder to think about how much more productive I could be without them.
Scott is a freelance technology journalist and a damn fine photographer to boot
Internet researcher
Alex Burmaster
Nielsen//NetRatings
Although my initial reaction was to muse on whether unwanted pop-up ads or broken links on search engines angered me most. The “physicality” of these makes them an obvious thing to remove. However, five minutes later, I had to check my online bank account and it made me realise that if I could remove one thing from the internet, it would be something slightly more “ethereal”: the uncertainty or worry about who could potentially be accessing the large amount of personal data we now transmit to the internet and hold online.
Alex is European internet analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings, a global leader in internet media and market research
Ecommerce specialist
Chris Barling
Actinic
It would have to be any trace of Michael Winner. He gets over 74,000 hits on Google, so there’s lots to remove. On the other hand, “Hate Michael Winner” gets 17,600 mentions - that’s a ratio of one in four. This is worse than the poster boy for internet abuse, James Blunt, with 2.7 million references and a hate ratio of one in four and a half. I know that it’s deeply sad to gather this sort of information, but it’s the sort of thing I do in my spare time. And unlike most others of my gender, I quite like James Blunt, even though he has a squeaky voice. I guess it’s because I’m happily married, so I’m not so upset by all that wasted female attention. Michael Winner, on the other hand, appears to have no redeeming qualities. A quick Google search for his image is even worse, particularly page two with the Daily Mail photo of a swimming-trunk-clad Winner. There should be a law against it. Surely this offensive material should be expunged from the net?
Chris founded the well-known ecommerce software development company Actinic in 1996
Web designer
Andy Clarke
Stuff and Nonsense Ltd
If I could remove one thing from the internet, it would be lack of accountability and responsibility for published material, including blog posts and comments. Many people believe that the freedom to publish one’s thoughts, sometimes anonymously, stands at the very heart of the increased freedoms that the web provides. Others believe that the low barrier to entry when publishing material or comments enhances freedom of speech. Yet, so many times, I’ve seen the damage that careless, thoughtless and sometimes intentionally vindictive words can have on people’s lives. I sincerely believe that there should be no participation without accountability.
Andy is a member of the Web Standards Project, and is an “Invited Expert” to the W3C’s CSS Working Group
Futurologist
Ian Pearson
BT
I would remove holiday cottage agencies. It used to be a trivial matter to book a holiday cottage. You would type “holiday cottage cornwall” into a search engine and you would get a lot of individual cottage sites, as well as a few holiday cottage companies, each of which would occupy just one place in the listing. Now, when you do the same, it’s near impossible to find any cottage that isn’t marketed through agencies, because they’ve selfishly proliferated their sites so much via duplication and innumerable cross links and alter egos. They just get in the way by trying to monopolise searches and add very little value, and their techniques mean that they take up the first million pages of any search, giving a holiday booker dozens of replicas of the same site. They’re a real nuisance, they add expense, complicate bookings, add delays, demand payment up front, impose ridiculous terms and conditions, and increase the time it takes to find a holiday. The net doesn’t need them, I don’t need them, the cottage owners don’t need them, and the tourist industry as a whole suffers greatly because of them. I and many other potential customers now go overseas instead. They have long overstayed their welcome!
Ian is a futurologist in BT’s group chief technology office
Business expert
Tom Hopkins
Conchango
Spam. Each new technology and interface brings with it a new flavour of spam. From email to search and social networks, while the black-hat marketers can make two pennies doing it, all of our most promising achievements will remain unfulfilled.
Tom is head of business development for interactive media at Conchango
Interactive media
Matt Bagwell
Conchango
Lazy conventions such as “fireplace” navigation systems. Or faux insights rather than genuine user-centred design. And footballer salaries for freelance user experience architects.
Matt is creative director of Conchango, one of the UK’s top interactive agencies
