Mozilla

Describing the “Open Web”

September 16th, 2009

Jono recently posed the question “What is ‘The Open Web’ and why should you care“. When I’m talking with people who drive cars regularly, I sometimes describe the Open Web by saying it’s a place where there is a decentralized  “aftermarket.” “Aftermarket” is the term used to describe replacement parts or equipment that a person uses to maintain or enhance a product. It’s a well known term in the auto industry.

For example, imagine if you bought a car and were forbidden from replacing the windshield wipers or the battery or the tires unless and until the car manufacturer allowed you to do so. Imagine if you could only use a battery that the car manufacturer provided, or approved. And imagine that the only place to buy batteries or windshield wipers or new tires was from the car dealership. In this case your ability to keep yourself safe is reduced — if the manufacturer has only poor quality tires, that’s all you can get. If you want tires for snow but the manufacturer doesn’t offer them, you’re out of luck. If the tires are wildly expensive, you’re stuck. In this setting we would also say goodbye to the variety of independent developers, stores and maintenance centers; everything would be controlled by the automobile manufacturers. Innovation would also be channeled through this same small number of manufacturers. Develop an innovative tire or better stereo system and you have to get the manufacturers to adopt it; you can’t go directly to consumers.

This ability to change components, to enhance or maintain a product the way to meet individual needs is at risk in the online world. Similarly, the ability of independent creators to try new things is at risk. Technology manufacturers use both technical and legal means to restrain this freedom. Some make it difficult technically to change a component. Others try to make it illegal. Some do both.

The Open Web embodies the legal and technical flexibility so that I can decide what combination of products best suits my needs. I may be very happy to stick completely with what the manufacturer of a piece of technology gives me, just as I might be happy to have all my automotive maintenance done by the dealer using exclusively “official” products. I may want to make only a few changes and the options the manufacturer has pre-approved are fine for me. But somewhere in my life I am very likely to want something slightly different, something attuned to me and the quirks of my life. I may need to find a technical guru to help me, but fortunately there are lots of technical communities building interesting things. The Open Web makes this possibility real, a vibrant part of online life.

10 comments for “Describing the “Open Web””

  1. 1

    Duv said on September 16th, 2009 at 4:26 pm:

    You know, their is the one thing that bug me. For what you call the “open web” is what I simply call the “web”. I believe that the internet or “web” is only this vibrant due to the open tools that have build it.
    For the web to continue, there need to be ideas flowing in the same manner as data. The infrastructure for it is there, the fact that Firefox succeeds is due to this… but their all forces out that that would assume that this kind of creativity is not constructive to the internet and fight against that tide. I think that it would be rather constructive to one, identify these forces and two beat them at defining what the web is to people.

    To me, to call this the “open web” would back this kind of creativity into a corner, and make it harder to have to the legal construct in place to foster it’s growth.
    If it is already here, then we are best to protect it with all that we have.

    That is my two cents.

  2. 2

    Pingback from Christopher Blizzard (blizzard) 's status on Thursday, 17-Sep-09 14:58:33 UTC - Identi.ca

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  3. 3

    Ferdinand said on September 17th, 2009 at 11:40 pm:

    @Mitchell:
    “your stuck.” should be “you’re stuck.”
    “say good-buy to” should be “say goodbye to” (at least I think you meant that…)
    “the way” should be “in a way”
    “difficult technically” should be “technically difficult”
    @Duv: It is difficult to get your point from your post because it uses too many words(and bad English) to make a point. But I think your point is: if we call it the open web people are forced to choose sides. The problem is that most people don’t know that most of the web is open. A few things like flash, silverlight, java and quicktime make the web encumbered(not open).
    If you don’t give people the choice they will take the easy route and that means flash and friends.

  4. 4

    Pingback from Tristan Nitot (nitot) 's status on Friday, 18-Sep-09 15:37:54 UTC - Identi.ca

    […] the Open Web is a place where there is a decentralized “aftermarket.” http://blog.lizardwrangler.com/2009/09/16/describing-the-open-web/ […]

  5. 5

    iang said on September 19th, 2009 at 4:55 pm:

    Imagine if there were an aftermarket in security… Well, we can still dream.

    @Ferdinand: get a life, dude!

  6. 6

    marco casteleijn (upnorth) said on September 29th, 2009 at 8:35 pm:

    Hi Mitchell, this is a great post! I like this part the most: “The Open Web embodies the legal and technical flexibility so that I can decide what combination of products best suits my needs.”

    What it all comes down to is education. Where to choose, which parts are good or bad? How do you know that a really great feature fits into your needs (aka 24″ inch rims do not fit my Pinto). In smaller (Internet) communities this may go well by word-of-mouth, in larger (Internet) communities the ‘consumers’ are flooded by advertisements and great deals, but what will last of fit the customer’s need better?

    I will keep this in mind while we are working on our project, which hopes to advance the Mozilla Manifesto and the “Open web”, and hope you guys keep thinking on where to find reliable information…

    Marco

  7. 7

    marco casteleijn (upnorth) said on September 29th, 2009 at 8:37 pm:

    (btw disqus.com commenting is a nice tool for tying blogs via comments to microblogs ;o)

  8. 8

    WPclassifieds.net said on September 30th, 2009 at 10:10 am:

    To me, to call this the “open web” would back this kind of creativity into a corner, and make it harder to have to the legal construct in place to foster it’s growth.
    If it is already here, then we are best to protect it with all that we have.

  9. 9

    VA said on October 5th, 2009 at 8:25 am:

    Imagine if there were an aftermarket in security… Well, we can still dream.
    @Ferdinand: get a life, dude!

  10. 10

    Pingback from What is the open web? Two things, at least. « commonspace

    […] of Mozilla people asking the question ‘what is the open web?‘ of late. Atul, Jono and Mitchell all blogged about it a few weeks back. People at MozaCamp Europe drew pictures and wrote tag lines […]

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