Guardian

The third era starts here


The programmable web will fundamentally change how we use information stored on the internet. Jack Schofield explains how. Google doesn't own the web, according to its director of technology, Craig Silverstein. The competition is just a click away. Thousands of programmers are now devoting their own time to developing things that could change that. What used to be a search engine is turning into a platform for applications. Of course, it's not just Google that is changing. Amazon and eBay are doing the same thing, but much more seriously. As a result, some people think that the web is now entering its third era. After static web pages and dynamic web pages, we are now developing what some are calling "the programmable web," though whether it is still the web remains open to doubt.