(Okay, I just had to post this one, but then back to work.)
For those of you not up on the latest in Internet fads and technology, there’s this thing called “Web 2.0”. In a nutshell, it’s the new Web built on the concept that communities are what’s important and that rather than having a one-on-one relationship with the web site proprietor, it’s better to have a many-to-many relationship with the web community with the site as a medium. Examples of this Web 2.0 concept are Flickr, Digg, and del.icio.us. (Of course cynics would say that what truly distinguishes Web 2.0 is a uniform design sense that includes rounded buttons, puffy logos, and a tendency to drop the final ‘e’ in a name that ends in ‘r’, as in “Flickr”).
Unfortunately, there seems to be an excess of narcissistic self-revelation involved in many of these social web sites. The epitome of this is a site called Twitter (not, as you might expect, “Twittr”). As the site itself explains it: “A global community of friends and strangers answering one simple question: What are you doing?” In fact, think of it as your instant messenger’s away message on steroids. Twitter apparently consists of thousands of people posting the minutiae of their day, as if anyone else but them really cares. Here are some real world examples of Twitter messages right now: “Writing bass riffs”, “his is funny: walking by attractive guy who is giving me the eye and then just as our paths cross… i stumble”, “Chilling out after school”, “finished scanning photos.” Really, does anyone care that you’re drinking your third Coke of the day or going to make 50 copies?
Apropos of all that, Instapundit links to a funny comic making fun of the self-revelatory social web concept, taken to the extreme: “Poopr.com”. It’s about what you think.
What’s even funnier is Melanie came up with an even better one: “Diapr.com”. We all know how parents obsess about the contents of their children’s nappies. “Hey honey, come look at this one!” “Wow, I’ve never seen that color before. What did she eat?“A social web site for Gen X & Y parents who think the whole world wants to know everything about their kid, right down to what’s going on in their diaper.
(Okay, it was hysterical when we were talking about it before. Some funny things don’t translate to print as well, especially when you have to preface it with two paragraphs of explanation. I still think it was funny though.)
What, have you never heard of the Trixie Tracker?
Oh. My. Gosh.
Wow, that about sums it up.
I thought you might be onto something until I saw the comment. I am not going to follow the link as my 11 year old daughter keeps poking her head around the screen.
But anyway, I usually answer any diapr comments with an emphatic NO! Don’t care to know about whatever it is.
KaleJ: It’s nothing like that. It is in fact something much like our Diapr.com idea, except it also tracks baby’s sleeping, nursing, bottles, and so on. There is nothing new under the sun and no idea too silly that someone hasn’t made a web site for it.