Where is the Web Going?

Wired posted an article earlier today titled "The Web is Dead. Love Live The Internet" in which the switch of focus from the web to more specific and closed applications is discussed and analyzed with the prediction that we are witnessing the beginning of the end of the web and an emergent threat to "openness". This article can be found here.

The original article is interesting and definitely worth the long read, but I found the discussion it spawned to be much more interesting. The discussion can be found here.

Toward the end of the discussion, Google's apparent capitulation to Verizon and switch from "Don't Be Evil" to "Unless It Makes Good Business Sense" is discussed and Chris Anderson has a great paragraph toward the end of the discussion that lends an interesting perspective to what many feel is Google's betrayal of net neutrality and the good citizens of a (mostly) open Internet, wired or wireless.

"In short, I have some sympathy for the position Google finds itself in its public stance on network neutrality with Verizon. At a certain point economics trumps philosophy. If business logic counts as “evil,” we have taken our openness imperative too far. At the end of the day, whatever works for all concerned will win. As the Web moves from adolescence to adulthood, idealism is naturally giving way to pragmatism."

- Chris Anderson (emphasis in original)

I think it's a great point that people need to remember when it comes to Google. We all had/have this vision (me especially) of Google as a golden crusader with the best interests of ourselves and the good citizens of the world at heart but in the end Google is a company like any other company. The business world is sadly not the place for staunch idealism.