Death of the webmaster

Many of our grandfathers built their own houses. And from the foundation to the roof, they knew everything about them. They knew which fuse to pull and replace, how to adjust that squeaky door and how to troubleshoot the plumbing problem.

Today, I have a nice house. I know how to change the furnace filter. But plumbing is not my strong suit and I'm still not sure how to work the gas fireplace. I manage by relying on experts - plumbers, electricians, cable repair guys - when I need to.

Websites have evolved in a similar fashion. There was a time, not that long ago really, when organizations would appoint a single person to "run the website." They were called a webmaster or a webmistress. They were generalists who were expected to be a jack of all trades, having skills ranging from coding and design to copywriting and marketing. It was the era of FrontPage, hit counters, and static web content.

But today's sophisticated websites demand more attention and expertise than one person can manage. Today a team of individuals, representing different business units and different organizational priorities, are often responsible for the website. And just like my call to the electrician or plumber, some functions such as site hosting, application development, or search engine optimization are outsourced to companies outside the organization who have more expertise or capabilities in those fields.

Yes, even for most small organizations, the days of one-person web shop are over. But, despite the title of this post, the webmasters didn't die off like the dinosaurs. They are still around although their titles and responsibilities may have changed. Today they are probably the Director of Web Operations or the Vice President of Digital Media. Just like my Grandfather, they probably catch themselves speaking of "how we did things in the olden days of the previous century" once in a while.