Yesterday I wrote about the lack of big ideas in tech media, in response to a New York Times op-ed about the “post-idea world.” I basically complained that there is too much mindless pap on Techmeme these days, most of it about business deals and rumors. Where are the “big idea” articles about technology, I wondered.
It’s all very well moaning about the state of things, but we at ReadWriteWeb aspire to be a part of the solution too. So I’m going to ask an open question and I’d really appreciate any and all responses to it. Ideally by leaving a comment here on RWW. Alternatively: reply on Twitter (to @RWW), comment on the RWW Facebook Page, or leave a comment on my Google Plus profile. The question is simply this: what technology topics or ideas would you like to read about?
I’ll start the ball rolling by listing 5 people who inspire me with big ideas; along with recent examples of their work.
- Tim O’Reilly recently wrote a post detailing how online mapping products let him down when he needed them most. Tim’s thinking about just about anything is worth reading, but in recent times location technology has been one of his most interesting topics.
- John Battelle wrote a couple of posts this month outlining his thoughts on this question: can Twitter solve its signal to noise problem? That’s a topic I find compelling: filtering the noise of social media.
- danah boyd wrote a blog post earlier this month entitled Designing for Social Norms (or How Not to Create Angry Mobs). UX design has been an interest of mine this year, particularly given the raft of new devices we have now – smartphones, iPad, Internet TV, etc.
- Kevin Kelly, whose book What Technology Wants I thoroughly enjoyed earlier this year, wrote a blog post based on the following question: in ten years from now, how many gadgets will people carry? The evolution of gadgets, fascinating topic!
- Fred Wilson is a VC whose blog I consistently enjoy. His recent post about HTML5 showed that an article doesn’t need to be lengthy and text-heavy to be thought-provoking. Native apps vs. browser-based apps, a big issue that many technology and media companies are grappling with these days.
Those are just 5 of many people whose ideas inspire me, along with a recent post each wrote on a big tech idea.
Now I’d love to hear your thoughts on this question: what technology topics or ideas would you like to read about?
Image credit: Foxtongue
