will.ph

The Internet has taught me web standards, PHP, MySQL, website administration, how to modify WordPress, etc. In other words, it has taught me a lot in terms of technical knowledge regarding websites. But what it actually taught me besides making myself more marketable in the field of web development is the knowledge I get when doing a research on a certain topic.

Take, for example, the Microsoft-Yahoo snorefest a few months ago. Microsoft was so sure Yahoo would give in. When they did not, Microsoft stepped back from the table. However, some Yahoo shareholders would like Microsoft to make a bid again and they, the shareholders, will make sure Yahoo’s board will be more agreeable. Fat chance of that happening. Microsoft was already shunned away. To keep themselves from being humiliated further, they would rather acquire Yahoo slices instead of the whole pie. As an aftermath, executives and staff alike decided to leave a sinking ship, if it really is sinking, and this is after they laid off a sizable amount of their workforce. Founders of Flickr left Yahoo, which made me wonder what will happen now to Flickr. Is the US economy really that bad that VPs and executives are leaving the company? Yahoo will have to be more agile to cope up with the scaling web.

I also noticed this in Plurk, not that there’s someone trying to takeover the company. After a month of plurking and being a member, it is only now that I understood why Plurk was created. It’s supposed to enlighten the user. The karma points that the user receives are merely that. I used to join in on the discussions and threads, but it seems to me that Plurk has become a popularity contest, something the creators never intended it to be. So now, I’d rather read and follow Plurkers that post links to sites, videos, and pictures, and would challenge myself to find those little golden bits of amusement to share to others. It makes catching up on 400+ new plurks worthwhile. More often than not, I am thinking about the answer to the question “what’s in it for me?” And if I don’t have anything worthwhile to say, I won’t say anything at all. This is the reason why my plurks are becoming very seldom.

So, what has the Internet taught you?