Don't call it bloat

Zawinski's Law of Software Envelopment states:

Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail. Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones which can.

Mozilla, Google and Emacs are examples of the law in action. Even Yahoo! Messenger has a component that notifies the user about new email messages.

The Law of Software Envelopment should be updated for Web 2.0:

Every program attempts to expand until it can read or publish RSS/Atom feeds. Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones which can.

Both the original and the updated laws are instances of the general pattern: expansion of information zones.