Jeffrey Zeldman, one of the 'web brat pack', has written an interesting article for A List Apart that talks to the challenges of web design. While I can't speak to the metaphorical aspects of his essay, he hits on a few topics that resonate with me.Over the years, I've seen too many web site designs developed as an art exercise, with an award in mind or even as a 'technology for the sake of technology' exercise. As Zeldman writes, "creators of winning entries see the web as a vehicle for advertising and marketing campaigns in which the user passively experiences Flash and video content." It is understandable that many agencies apply the technologies in the context they know, display advertising and the awards they strive to receive. I believe the historical excessive use of Flash illustrates the continued perspective that web users are a passive audience. I'm surprised at the number 'skip intro' buttons I still need to press today.Another gem from the article was the reference to the hype 2.0 Mark Zuckerberg statement . "It's true. Look back over the last millennium or two, and you'll see that every century, like clockwork, there's been a big change in media. Cave painting lasted a hundred years, and then there was smoke signaling, which also lasted a hundred years, and of course there was the hundred years of yodeling, and then there was the printing press, which was invented almost precisely 100 years ago, and so forth and so on up to the present day -- the day that Facebook picked up the 100-year torch and ran with it."Yodeling. Awesome. Way to go Mark, keep 'em coming.