Recently I read an an article about Open-Source software in the White House. The article was actually about the migration of the White House web site from a proprietary publishing platform to the open source content management software–Drupal.
This article on the New York Times Bits Blog was interesting for several reasons.
First, this web site, the web site of the President of the United States, a web site that would probably still be up and running after a nuclear attack, is now published with open source software. Use of open source software is sure becoming wide-spread. Tim O’Reilly wrote and the Bits Blog article linked to a post examining the implications of the use of open source software in government. Some open source projects are so rock solid today, it’s hard to imagine a rational reason not to use them. Drupal, for one, and the Apache web server, for example are probably comparable to or better than equivalent closed source solutions.
Another thing in this Bits Blog article by Ashlee Vance captured my interest. Mr Vance discussed his first experience with Drupal, a common experience I believe. The writer described being able to successfully set up Drupal on a server but not having much luck customizing his Drupal installation beyond that initial configuration.
Some of the concepts fundamental to publishing a site with complex software like Drupal pretty much guarantee a long and painful learning curve. Data structures and theming can be quite complex.
Mr Vance, of course, didn’t complain about his initial experience with Drupal without purpose. His story actually made a great backdrop for his next paragraphs about Drupal Gardens. After watching the preview video, it appears Drupal Gardens will be a software as a service (SaaS) version of Drupal targeted at the D.I.Y. publisher. I could tell you what I think about Drupal Gardens, but it’s better if you just watch the video yourself.
My take on this software is not all that unique. First, I’m enthused and want to experiment with this publishing tool when it becomes available. Drupal Gardens caused me to think of other SaaS self publishing solutions. I’ve written here about using WordPress.com to publish free or very inexpensive web sites. Squarespace is another self-publish solution that comes to mind. And what about Google Apps and the various services from Zoho.
These services, and many more like them, are a new class of D.I.Y. hosting solutions. They offer a set of tools and supporting services, mail, hosting, collaboration tools, and so on that collectively produce a solution to a specific business need.
Traditional low-cost web hosting offers many different technologies that can in theory be used to build solutions. In reality, if you lack the technical competence to use these tools, your results may suffer. On the other hand, these modern SaaS services are built with a specific solution in mind. Less a blank slate and more a set of tools for solving a specific problem, the average D.I.Y. builder is far more likely to achieve the desired end result.
So, keep an eye on Drupal Gardens, because it looks to be a good publishing tool. And, give some thought to some of the other technologies mentioned here the next time your in the market for a new Web presence.
