* 500 issues later, which Web technology have analysts branded a "waste of time?"
I just realized that this is the 500th issue of the Network World Web Applications Newsletter. The first issue appeared Dec. 14, 1998, and now, 250 weeks later we have more than 25,000 subscribers. Way to go, us.
Since that first issue this whole area of technology has changed fantastically – just consider how important XML has become and how Web services has exploded as a key architecture.
Also fascinating is how some of our notions of what is important in Web applications have turned out to be incorrect. Take for example Web personalization – the ability of a Web site to be customized for individual users. For years Web personalization was considered to be a crucial differentiator in attracting and retaining visitors, and fundamental to building enduring and hopefully intimate relationships with prospects and customers.
Turns out we were all wrong. According to a recent Jupiter Research report titled “Beyond the Personalization Myth,” Web site personalization is a waste of time and money.
The logic behind this is that navigation and search features available on most Web sites create a satisfactory user experience. Moreover, according to the report personalizing a Web site is more than twice as likely to attract visitors who spend nothing, as it was paying the customers.
According to Jupiter, privacy has become a big factor: The report says that more than 25% of users claimed that they would not register for personalization and were concerned that marketers would misuse their information.
In the face of that statistic Jupiter says it costs more than four times as much to operate a personalized site compared to a “dynamic site.”
The report summarizes the issues as: “Despite few successful reference implementations and exorbitant capital and human costs, site operators and marketers alike continue to believe in the myth of full-bore Web site personalization: an automated, black-box solution to individualizing visitor experience, thus driving customer satisfaction and site value. Companies must rethink personalization, and pursue lower-cost alternatives.”
Of course not everyone would agree – especially personalization vendors and Google which just acquired the virtually unknown personalization company Kaltix.
On the other hand, the issues of privacy and legal liability over stored user data are becoming significant so even if Jupiter’s analysis of user trends is somehow flawed, there would seem to be enough reason to think carefully before committing to any significant investment in Web personalization.
So there you have it, another Web application strategy quite possibly short-circuited and disabled by the relentless evolution of the Web. Who knows what else will emerge as a hot technology or become obsolete by our 1,000th issue?
Drop me a note if you get the chance and tell me what’s important to you regarding Web applications, what we need to cover, and what’s on your mind.
