What software is being conceived right now that, in ten years, will fundamentally alter the landscape of the Web? Who is hacking on a personal project that will eventually be used by millions of people?
Asked ten years ago, the answers to these questions would be WordPress and Matt Mullenweg & Mike Little. I’m not sure what the answer to the first question will be ten years from now, but I hope I’m a part of the second answer.
I was talking with my wife tonight about the shutdown of Google Reader; she uses it heavily and relies on a number of features that aren’t all found in the alternatives. She was worried that on July 1st, she’ll be forced to settle for something that doesn’t meet all of her needs. My reply? “The worst case scenario is that you’ll have to tell me what you want, and I’ll build it for you.”
Being a programmer in the early twenty-first century is like being a blacksmith in the early twentieth century. No matter what is available to the public at large, you have the advantage of being able to build your own tools.