A plea for using standards
According to Dictionary.com the definition for standard is:
something considered by an authority or by general consent as a basis of comparison; an approved model.
This however doesn’t stop companies from adapting their own standards for products. This happens in all industries. Some examples: Sony using their own kind of memory cards. Shimano and Campagnolo using different hubs to mount sprockets on. Mobile phone manufacturers using different USB or headphone connectors. The list goes on and one.
The latest company to (once again) come up with their own standard is Microsoft with their continuation of using Word to render HTML email in Outlook. This has lead to a bit of a Twitter outrage in protest of this action (not that Microsoft seems to care) and to promote open standards. Microsoft has a bit of a history when it comes to these things (Silverlight vs. Flash for instance) and of course it has a lot of pull with being one of the (or maybe the) biggest software manufacturer in the world.
From a business standpoint it does make sense. Sony has created a new revenue stream with creating their own memory cards. With developers wanting to create applications that run on Silverlight, Microsoft can create seminars or courses that teach developers how to code for the new software. Using different connectors for mobile phone manufacturers means that whenever a customer buys a new phone, they need to buy a new adapter to make their old gear work or just flat out buy new stuff.
But companies need to realize that they create resentment with consumers with this behavior. Whether it’s by installing another program for your browser or just having to buy another type of memory card to expand the memory on your phone, it creates a hassle that a consumer doesn’t want. The average consumer just wants things to work out of the box. They expect to be spending some time to get familiar with a device, but they don’t want to spend extra money to make things work with what they already own (for some this creates an attitude of “keeping the device for as long as it works”; this cuts into the upgrading cycle many companies depend upon). It’s all about ease of use.
Especially when it comes to web standards. People are spending more time on the web than ever and are using different devices to access it. And they want their experience on the web to be the same, whatever the device. Using HTML, CSS and all other web standards will ensure that the consumers experience of using the web will be the same on every screen. It will not only make it easier for developers to code applications but give way to more creativity in what those applications can do. All in all using standards is a win-win situation.
