The Three Temptations Of Meta(w-shadow.com)
w-shadow.com
The Three Temptations Of Meta
http://w-shadow.com/blog/2010/12/16/the-three-temptations-of-meta/
4 comments
Some good things have come from meta tools. I would say that a search engine (index the Internet and make it searchable) is very meta, but it seems to be working well for google. How about group buying... All you're doing is aggregating buyers and sellers. Seems to work well for groupon and all their clones.
I don't see a problem with building a meta tool, or a meta meta tool. It sure beats sitting around and watching tv- thats not... Anything. Go build something useless, I give you permission. It worked out well for Larry and Sergey.
I don't see a problem with building a meta tool, or a meta meta tool. It sure beats sitting around and watching tv- thats not... Anything. Go build something useless, I give you permission. It worked out well for Larry and Sergey.
All software is meta. Even when it is controlling effectors.
I didn't make it all the way to the end (insert irony here), but an initial reaction is that there's uninformed meta and then there's informed meta.
Or perhaps I should change that to "informing".
A little of either goes a long way. The former, as a sand trap. The latter, towards insight, efficiency, and pleasure.
I'm suddenly reminded of Larry Wall. Perhaps I might treat "meta" as a potential offspring of laziness. (E.g. if you don't enjoy repetitive, rote tasks.)
Or perhaps I should change that to "informing".
A little of either goes a long way. The former, as a sand trap. The latter, towards insight, efficiency, and pleasure.
I'm suddenly reminded of Larry Wall. Perhaps I might treat "meta" as a potential offspring of laziness. (E.g. if you don't enjoy repetitive, rote tasks.)
For example, television aggregated locations (such as theaters) into one place: the viewer's living room. Cable television aggregated antennas to deliver better picture quality. Streaming video aggregates time-shifting to allow programs to be truly watched (and paused) on demand.
We're seeing the same thing with mobile apps, many of which aggregate browser clicks (Gmail app, YouTube app, etc.).
If you look around, you'll see endless examples of popular abstractions. It's not an issue of how many there are, but which ones will win over the others.