Recipe for success, part II

Is it possible to reuse the Web's recipe for success to popularize a new platform? Is it the right time to build a scalable shared world? Let's review the ingredients.

1. Relevant paradigm.

   New paradigms are not easy to find, but fortunately we have one: peer-to-peer computing. Faster machines and faster connections at the endpoints make a symmetric architecture timely.

2. Fast and easy content authoring.

   Building a world will require developing good tools first; but when the tools are in place, computer-assisted content authoring can take off. If the system has a good economic model, professionals will be attracted to the medium and will cooperatively design advanced artifacts.

3. Ease of content distribution.

   With no distinction between a client and a server, the line between content producer and consumer is blurred: today's file sharing networks are an illustration.

4. Superlinear utility.

   In a digital universe, there is no difference between designing a single chair and building a chair factory—components are reusable, making creation easier with time and causing a network effect.

5. Interoperability

   Interfaces to email, instant messaging, voice networks, and the Web itself should make the system useful from the start. The goal is not to replace the existing protocols right away but to augment them.

6. Optimal use of computing resources.

   Broadband connections and 3D accelerator cards are ubiquitous but underused. A shared world will require modern hardware and modern networking—the resulting experience will surpass the Web.

Though processor and network speeds have doubled many times since 1989 the Web has reaped few of the benefits. It's time for a new platform so that the potential of the modern computer can be fully realized.