Stupid Phrases That Need To Go Away: "Web Manager 2.0"

It's short, so I'm going to whole-hog copy the Computerworld piece that has irritated me.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=311869&source=rss_topic10


Web Manager 2.0
A new breed of Web manager is emerging to replace the traditional webmaster, says Tony Byrne, founder of CMS Watch, an analyst firm in Olney, Md., that evaluates Web content management systems. The title of webmaster -- which implies lots of HTML coding and page layout -- is "probably on its way out," Byrne says.

While centralized layout templates and HTML conversion tools have automated some of the traditional work, Byrne says the new "Web manager 2.0" needs a higher order of skills in areas such as these:

Managing, analyzing and testing user experiences.
Understanding information architecture, organization and search engines.
Assessing the consumer value, or return on investment, of the Web site.
Lobbying to make sure the Web site is customer-driven.

Plus, many Web sites and intranets have become bloated with too many pages, Byrne says, so today's Web managers are looking to get rid of the clutter.

-- Mitch Betts

1)I've taken training classes from Tony. I value Tony's opinion in his area highly, but really, Tony is not the head of Dice.com or the lead recruiter at the P&G internet marketing wing.

2) Webmaster as a title "which implies lots of HTML coding and page layout" was dead by 2000!

3)I'm heartily sick of "2.0" stuff as well as the upcoming 3.0 name. I've even seen 4.0. Honestly, we didn't realize Web 2.0 was "different" until blogs and social networks had been out for years. I think it's a little early to be declaring 3.0 and 4.0. Web Manager 2.0 implies someone to manage Web 2.0 stuff specifically, not a better Web Master.

4)The description of a Web Master they have here is just a fraction of what the good webmasters I know do. Their titles vary from place to place, and most stuck with the antiquated "webmaster" are lobbying for change, but the duties are not as hidebound as this article implies.

Honestly, I don't know anyone working as a web manager or web master who doesn't pay attention to usability... and to code, and to servers, and to design issues, and to cost and metrics, and to just about anything that applies. They don't have a choice. Most don't have 4,032 staff to delegate to; it's know everything or drown.

I expected actual news from Computerworld, not stuff we were discussing at conferences seven years ago!