For those who say the web is no replacement…

…you’re right.
“A blog can never replace a journal…”
“There is something missing with online presentations, it’s just not the same…”
“Who needs social networking, I prefer the telephone…”
“A web survey is not superior to a paper survey…”
Sound familiar?
The new social web has more than its fair share of detractors. Those that point to the old way of doing things and say, “why change?” Often times their arguments make sense. I mean how can you disagree with the points made above? But they often miss one key fact.
The web is not a replacement.
A blog doesn’t have to replace a journal to be useful. Online presentations offer new opportunities to send messages across the world but that doesn’t mean you have to stop going to conferences. Social networking allows you to keep ties with more people than traditional means ever could. A web survey is a new mode of data collection complete with its own set of advantages, disadvantages, and quirks.
If you are one of the detractors, give up the assumption that trying something new means giving up something. It doesn’t. It never has and it never will.
If you have time, here is a TED talk by Kevin Kelly on the evolution of technology.
[ted id=19]