Back in April I gave a talk atAn Event Apart Spring Summit. The talk was calledThe State Of The Web, andI’ve published the transcript. I’ve also publishedthe video.

I put a lot of work into this talk and I think it paid off. I wrote aboutpreparing the talk. I alsowrote about recording it. I also publishedlinks related to the talk. It was an intense process, but a rewarding one.

I almost called the talkThe Overview Effect. My main goal with the talk was to instil a sense of perspective. Hence the references to the famous Earthrise photograph.

On the one hand, I wanted the audience to grasp just how far the web has come. So the first half of the talk is a bit of a trip down memory lane, with a constant return to just how much we can accomplish in browsers today. It’s all very positive and upbeat.

Then I twist the knife. Having shown just how far we’ve progressedtechnically, I switch gears the moment I say:

The biggest challenges facing the World Wide Web today are not technical challenges.

Then I dive into those challenges, as I see them. It turns out that technical challenges would be preferable to the seemingly intractable problems of today’s web.

I almost wish I could’ve flipped the order: talk about the negative stuff first but then finish with the positive. I worry that the talk could be a bit of a downer. Still, I tried to finish on an optimistic note.

I won’t spoil it any more for you.Watch the video or have a read ofThe State Of The Web.