Apps Are Taking Over

In everyone’s life there’s a point of no return, a point where you can’t go forward anymore. When we reach that point, all we can do is accept the facts and move on. That’s how we survive. As I see it, the only real battle in life is the timing between hanging on and letting go. It had to happen. Cities across the country had serious problems. Government at all levels had no choice but to put out a call for help. It was up to the tech community to respond, with ideas, with voices, with creativity and with code. As technology platforms evolved and city resources continued to dwindle, it seemed the right thing to do. Entrepreneurs with great ideas were invited to join the conversation.

The goal was to transform government from antiquated, bureaucratic and wasteful into customer-driven, creative, sustainable and data-oriented organizations. We started to see application ecosystems develop at the local, state, and federal level. Creative platforms and killer apps were designed to reduce traffic, parking congestion, pollution, energy consumption, and crime. They were used for citizen engagement: cleaning up parks, beaches, and roads; identifying and fixing local problems. Revenues rolled in and costs rolled out.

Since then, we've learned that buildings outfitted with intelligent sensors and networked management systems have the potential to reduce energy consumption and cut costs in the billions. That should come as no surprise. It’s easy to forget the interstate highway system and the internet itself were originally government-funded. But all good things must come to an end. Even the Web itself may have run its course. No. The Web wasn’t perfect and while it did create a commons where people could exchange information and goods, it inevitably forced companies to build technology that was explicitly designed to be compatible with competitors’ technology.

The writing was on the wall. It was only a matter of time before apps would take over and the Web’s architects would abandon it. The process of creating new Web standards has slowed to a crawl. Internet companies have large teams focused on creating very high quality apps and the mobile Web has become a low priority.