Wired Magazine explained recently that the "online" world of the web is fading in importance as apps that just work and machine to machine conversations take over the Internet. A major driving force behind this phenomenon is that those of us who grew up with the World Wide Web are reaching the point where we have a few bucks to spend, and would rather pay for a service then spend our time fiddling with computers in order to get access to the ideas, music, news, people, etc. that we love. They take a look at the history of industrial development and the like as a model to understanding the further implications of this phenomenon, and point out that regulated oligopolies appear to be the natural end point for capitalism.
There are some broad implications that occur to me, which I'd like to think through.
My first thoughts are for those of us who are convinced of the principles behind Free Software, and who would see that those principles guide the future. It's been stated repeatedly that our interest is not that people are prevented from making a profit, only that we want to ensure that said profits do not come at the cost of people's liberties. To win the pragmatic side of the debate is likely more important that to win the ideological debate. I suspect that in this case it is actually good news that most people don't care how things are done "behind the scenes" so long as everything basically works. Why? Because machine to machine communication is simplest with open, standardized protocols (I'm thinking TCP/IP and the like). The trick is not, as was thought, to take over the desktop and win the hearts of computer users. The trick is to make sure that the open platforms are the best way to handle the back-bone first.
Okay - Stop writing this for a certain audience. This is a think through..
Damnit. I got to the end without any of the steps. So what is the end? The end is that we use REST to deliver real life services.
Thats the trick. Okay - so what does that mean? That means that your "pizza" application is both a free app and an open api. Nobody fucking cares about the advertisements, coupons, etc. They want to push a button and trade their money for Pizza. Or, more importantly for a guy like me, photos, or what the fuck ever.
Like rats in a cage - push the button, get a food. Button -> food, button -> food, and pretty soon you've got a rat that wouldn't leave his fucking cage if you paid him.
And thus was conquered a world.
Son of a bitch!