Broad and deep

It’s hard to believe it’s already two weeks into 2008. The last 14 days have gone by in a blur as I’ve been frozen in experiment and learn mode. Like most complex systems, there are a large number of different roles that need to be filled in making the Web function as smoothly as it does. You need networking people, system administrators, developers, designers, architects, testers. Each of these positions relies on a very specific set of skills and knowledge that gets deeper by the day. Since the Internet is such a new phenomena, most businesses that use the Web are still learning about what particular division of labor works best in their particular case. In my particular case, I have to know a little bit about all of the above. I’ve been spending 2008 trying to improve my networking and system administration skills from competent to competent with understanding. I’m sure Adam Smith would disapprove, but its still a gratifying challenge to learn how to do something I’ve never done before, especially when it works.

Theo Schlossnagle has put together a great post on keeping networks functional that I’m sure Adam Smith WOULD approve of, by helping to define a trade, and outlining the walk from A to B to C. It sheds a little light on the fact that even though we often want a clear career path to advancement, its hard to avoid doing a bit of everyone’s job along the way.