The emperor has new clothes

The current buzz around social software reminds me of the excitement around web services last year. Another similarity: both are new names for old practices. Web services have been around for almost as long as the web, and social software has been around for awhile as well. The new monikers allow people to talk about old concepts as if they were new, a useful practice in breaking old bad habits…as long as we don’t forget the past too much. (A la Alan Kay’s presentation this morning, particularly Douglas Englebart’s demonstration of the mouse and video-collaboration.)