The Key to Success Online is Learning as Fast as Possible–Everything Else is Just Commentary.
In the New World (the world of social media, the Internet, online, whatever you want to call it)…which is basically NOW…technical capability on the web isn’t really the limitation any longer. I’m a web developer, so I hate to say it, but for the most part technology has become a commodity.
When I started doing this 15 years ago (“this” meaning, building web sites as a profession), that basically wasn’t the case: you had to have specialized skills to publish on the web. Ward Cunningham had introduced the wiki in 1994, but very few people knew about it or understood it. Even so, it took technical skill to set one up.
Then, a few years later Dave Winer’s UserLand introduced Manila which, to my understanding, was the first widely available edit-in-the-browser blogging tool that was provided as an online service.
Now, just look at WordPress.com: 5 minutes and you have your very own self-published web site.
So, my point here is that once technology was the gating factor for simply being online, and the winners in the online marketplace were those who developed the technology the fastest (all other things, mainly quality and marketing, being equal).
But that is no longer the case. Now, it’s not about developing the technology, but figuring out how to use it effectively. In some ways, that’s where the New World is right now…searching to figure out the most effective ways to use these widely-available tools.
I remember the first time I looked up something in the c2 wiki, and, as a matter of fact, I am proud to say that I was a Manila user. But, in both cases I didn’t know how to use them. I mean, I knew how to operate the dials and make the machine whirr, but I didn’t know how to make the machine do something useful for me. I didn’t know how to apply the technology.
Which brings me to my point: in the New World, it’s the people who figure out how to make these technologies do something for them that are going to succeed, going to win the race. And, like any race, it’s the people who do it fastest that will win.
In other words, if you want to win in the New World–and you do want to win, right?–then the way to do it is to become a really fast and effective learner. Get really good at testing and experimenting, and applying the results to iterate, innovate and improve. And, get really good at doing it fast. That’s the path to success.
All the widgets and tools and technologies are just a distraction at this point. Implementing them, if they’re the right solution for your problem, is largely mechanical. The name of the is learning as fast as possible. Everything else is just commentary.
