Yes, we know how easy it is to build a web application today. WeFollow.com, launched by digg’s Kevin Rose, became a hit and got cloned quickly by Twitr.org:
Although the barriers to entry for developing a web application are low, it’s still difficult for non-technical “normal” people to build their own web application easily.
Most DIY application development solutions like Ning and blog platforms provide templated designs with feature limitations, and they all look the same. The WordPress platform offers open source application feature sets that allow non-programmers to cobble together working applications.
EVOLVING WEB DESIGN
This is the next phase of web design – facilitating non-techies in the building of applications. WordPress, functional but unslick, is so far the most accessible to the masses. We’re building Breaking News City sites on the WordPress platform because we can share it easily with non-programmers, and we can efficiently teach them how to build, customize and maintain a site in 4-5 hours.
What happens when anybody can build a web application? VC-funded stealth projects become more risky when anybody can easily clone them. The obsession with keeping traffic on site is threatened. The new paradigm will be for entrepreneurs to build applications that are easily owned, adopted and customized by anybody, and perhaps charge a subscription fee for the privilege. In this world, real estate agents would be able to create a fully functioning real estate listings search site similar to Trulia.com, but host it on their OWN domain. Facebook pages could be spun off onto their own domain.
Owning the domain will become analogous to “owning the house”. Traffic becomes equity, and more important, the houseowner sets the rules. The Domus Breaking News Project is based on creating the new accessible applications that can be shared freely through networks and society. Our business model is to consult with enterprises to adapt and customize these new applications for their business.
A good post - this is the sort of thing we are doing in the UK with the (soon to launch) talk about local project - building on www.kingscrossenvironment.com - just give people the skills, why bother with the expense and hassle of your own platform.
also if any of the websites go a bit off the rails, the liability firmly sits with the people who run the siteunder their own url.
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