The following excerpt from a recent
BusinessWeek interview with Jeff Bezosdemonstrates how important the "Executable Web" aspect of Web 2.0 (next generation Web comprising two complimentary tracks: Executable Web of Web Services and Syndicated Web or XML based content such as
RSS,
RDF,
OPML,
OCS,
FOAFetc.).
Q: Amazon.com now runs sites and on-line operations for
retailers such as Target and Toys 'R' Us. What's the future for
that services business? A: It's a rapidly growing part of our
business. And that goes from [large] companies that are customers
of that all the way down to individuals using our Web services to
tap into the fundamental platform that is Amazon.com. They can
build their own applications very effectively. It's almost closer
to an ecosystem. Q: So Amazon is becoming a kind of software
platform a bit like Microsoft (MSFT )? A: People are building stuff
that surprises us. That's what's so interesting about this. We've
built this big base of technology to serve ourselves, and now we're
opening it up and letting people access it. They're taking these
fundamental pieces and building completely new things that not only
would we have never gotten around to but in some cases maybe never
even have thought of. There are thousands of developers who are
building applications using Amazon Web services. The sky's the
limit on their creativity. Q: What arises from all those efforts?
A: People will be able to build very powerful applications by
hooking together a whole bunch of Web services from a whole bunch
of different companies. Q: What benefit is Amazon.com getting from
this? A: It's too early to say. It's certainly not a major source
of revenue for us. But when people use our Web services, they give
us credit for that. That turns out to be very helpful.
A few years ago the race was on to simply have a Web Site, then this requirement evolved into a requirement for a database driven site. Today we are seeing the final stages of the Web 2.0 inflection which will inevitably change the focus toward the need for a Point of Presence on the Web for exposing or invoking Web Services and/or Syndicating or Subscribing to XML based content.