I don’t usually post about geeky computer stuff (something else I would call “fun”) but today I read an article by Jeffrey Zeldman that deserves some serious attention. I won’t go into a background bio of Zeldman as it will bore most, and those that might find it interesting probably are already familiar with who he is. Suffice it to say, if  you are interested in doing anything content oriented on the internet, he’s a good person to know about.

In an article on A List Apart Zeldman writes about “Web 3.0″ and does so with a fiery and somewhat catty voice. About half of the article deals with AJAX and other techie stuff, but the other half speaks to substance. Substance in the sense of having a real purpose in your business ventures, in taking the steps that are appropriate because they make the most sense, not because they are trendy.

I’ve been mulling over social dynamics, business relationships, purpose, ethics and a whole slew of other heavy issues for the past week or two. Some of the topics are related to issues I’ve been dealing with recently while others are offshoots from the exploration I’ve been doing. Yet, for some reason, everything seemed to gel together (finally) when I came to the end of Zeldman’s article. Yes, it’s about new technology and the internet. But it’s also about having a purpose. And about creating companies, services and products that have value. And about ignoring the guy in the room with the loudest voice (you know, the one everyone listens to because he knows all the buzzwords and smiles a lot—but when you really listen to what he’s saying, you realize that “hot air” would be a compliment…).

I may be reading too much into the article, but I don’t think so. I highly recommend everyone take the time to read it and read it again. And for those of you who are tired of substance-less companies and so-called pundits, file it away for those times when you are digging your fingernails into your chair because you can’t take any more of the hyperbole…

TAGS: Substance | Zeldman | Business | Ethics

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 22nd, 2006 at 3:37 pm and is filed under Business Ethics, Business Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.