Re:Not the autoworkers of our generation
by randomdata on Monday September 02, 2013 @11:56PM
(#6318777)
Even if you limit it to static HTML and CSS, there are still many people who do that as a job. The only thing that has really been automated away is when someone is willing to use bog standard templates.
And in that respect, that kind of optimization has been happening since the dawn of the personal computer. Lotus 1-2-3 was the defining application of the PC, allowing average users to do programming-like operations that were once only in reach of programmers.
Well, first off, you're just shifting the goalposts and redefining what it means to "program" to suit your needs: it's inconvenient for your argument that there's now software that does what programmers used to do, so you just call those things something else.
But it doesn't matter, because you can't run from the core of the argument: it isn't limited to static HTML & CSS. Want web forms, but don't know how to write software or use databases? There's Wufoo, and dozens of others. Want to send email? Mailgun. Mailchimp. Want to accept payments? Paypal, Stripe. Want to show an interactive map with stuff on it? Google maps has you covered. Want to implement search on your website, but don't know anything about search? Swiftype will do that. So will Google site search. Need a sophisticated customer analytics system. OK. That'll be one line of javascript, please.
And what's more: it's only a matter of time before someone rolls all of these tools together into a pointy clicky interface that eliminates the token integration work (assuming they haven't already). There's no part of your argument that is safe from the trends that have been driving our industry.
"The true complexity of these startups lies in their server software - how to optimize at scale and so on."
True, but like I said before: almost nobody needs that. There's always going to be the need for complex software...it's just not clear how many people will be asking for it.