Being Called a Web Developer

This friend of mine dislikes being called a web developer. He prefers the term software developer or programmer. This is something that has never bothered me, and in fact, I've always liked the term web developer.

I guess there is the fear that using the term may be indicative of one's skill level, i.e. the web developer only uses HTML, CSS, and maybe a smattering of cut-n-paste JavaScript, while the software developer lives in nothing but code. Maybe it's just that those who prefer the term software developer believe it more accurately describes what we do (the "we" being those of us who code web sites.) I can say first hand that when asked "what do you do," the response "I'm a web developer" yields more blank-faced looks than when I say something to the effect of "I write software for web sites."

I still like the term, though. It speaks to the territory I inhabit. The "web," while being mired in several metaphors, does somehow feel very much like a place. When I code, I try to fill the place with useful structures, inhabitants, villages, cities. It feels like a betrayal to not acknowledge that place when describing myself. The web is like my hometown, like that place you drive by and wonder how anyone could live there. Some of us just see the value in hanging around and trying to make the place a little bit better.

Posted by deryck on December 15, 2006

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