It’s a very weird time to be a web developer these days… There was a time not too long ago when it sounded crazy that we had 2 or even god-forbid 3 browsers to code for. How far we’ve come…

We now have a string of browsers littered behind our industry like plane wreckage on a runway. It’s pretty gross. Most of us don’t even bother with browsers as fresh as 3 years old. There’s a thankful push to quit bothering with browsers even newer than that. It sounds pretty inviting to have less to worry about, -but browsers are far from the only concern.

What about the iPhone web app? The widget? The AIR app? How about Twitter integration, SMS, RSS, and countless others on the checklist? It’s daunting at best. Although development has gotten more agile and easy, -it’s kind of from necessity. When you finish your web app today, you’ve really only started…

As the trenches between these platforms get deeper, the web we used to know is receding. Interface design is tough enough when someone decides to accidentally double the padding on elements. Now we have to consider new scrolling methods, finger-based input, custom chrome, etc. etc. etc.

ok. So maybe we’re painting a grim picture, it’s not all-that-bad. We love the idea that there are more ways to reach an audience. More ways to access information on the go. We’re in a time now where people with very little technical know-how are creating some really exciting things online. Business people are able to scratch their own itch via web apps in a way that we’ve never seen. It would be nice to imagine that we’re moving more together, rather than more apart.