One-Web-Day Wasted

Normally this blog is a celebration of things digital/internet/web 2.0 etc. I use it to document little tid-bits of happenings and burgeoning trends.

So it saddens me to report on what is probably the most useless meme I have ever come across. It is so bad that I have to document it, because I’m curious if years from now it becomes a staple and I am that bitter asshole still pointing out its retardedness.

OneWebDay

Yes, this Friday, September 22nd, 2006 is the first ever OneWebDay.

Maybe this is a joke and if it is, I applaud the creators of the site, which looks very legit — with professional albeit incredibly cheezy design. But from what I understand OneWebDay is not a joke but the…

One day a year when we all – everyone around the
physical globe – can celebrate the Web and what it means to us as
individuals, organizations, and communities.

As with Earth Day
– an inspiration and model for OneWebDay – itâ??s up to the celebrants to
decide how to celebrate. We encourage all celebrations! Collaboration,
connection, creativity, freedom.

By the end of the day, the
Web should be just a little bit better than it was before, and weâ??ll be
able to see our connection to it more clearly.

Doesn’t that sound just lovely? The organizers also include a list of projects that you can do on OneWebDay, like teach your grandmother or Mayor to blog. Put your digital pictures online, create a wireless hot spot or write a personal history of how the internet has helped you.

There will be celebrations in Second Life and in various cities. For a more in-depth history check out this Zdnet blog post. But here is my question: Do we really need a day to celebrate the web?

The web is great. I’m not one to put it down. Believe it or not, I’m on the web right now. Odds are, you too are on the web. If you are not sure, step away from this post, check to see if the glass screen that these words appear on is connected to a computer. If it is, congradulations! You are on the web. You too can celebrate OneWebDay.

But my biggest criticism… the web isn’t shy of supporters, it doesn’t need the world to rally behind it. Even people who aren’t in the IT industry are making money off of the web — from advertisers to bankers its a regular beehive here on the web.

So WTF, why do we need a day to recognize how great the web is. It’s not addressing a crisis like Earth Day or AIDs Day, nor is it a point of national or civic pride. It’s not like the web is overlooked and needs a day for everyone to recognize its presence.

I haven’t delved that deep into the site, but I don’t even see where OneWebDay helps the internet spread to areas where it is desperatly needed (third world countries). Is this really just a day for middle class white people to recognize how great the web has been to us?

I guess we just like to make days for things. But I think we could have chosen a better (yet still pointless) thing to circle around. Here is a good list of potential new holidays.