Does WebRTC need a change in governance?
Is it time to change the governance of WebRTC in order to keep it growing and flourishing?
Read MoreThere's no simple answer to this question.
I had a chat the other day. The person I was talking to was actively developing WebRTC products for over a year. We were talking about getting WebRTC to more developers. He blurted out this sentence that in hindsight is intriguing to me: "WebRTC is hard"
The assumption is that WebRTC makes real time communications (especially the voice and video variants) a lot more accessible and easy for developers. And yet he complained it is hard. I had to mull it over and stew for a few days, so I decided to write my own view here.
To me, WebRTC is the EASIEST way to develop real time communication services and apps.
It might not be as easy as displaying a static website. A responsive website is also not as easy. Neither is a 3D game using WebGL. Or a service requiring backend analytics processing using Big Data.
The basic cost of doing business in communications has been brought down from around 2 million USD to 0 with WebRTC. The barriers of entry are now close to zero.
Yes. There's a learning curve.
Yes. It is different than what web developers were comfortable doing.
Yes. It is hard.
But it is a lot easier than the alternative.
WebRTC sits today in the middle - between VoIP and the Web. I think web developers have a real advantage over VoIP developers when it comes to using WebRTC and building a successful business with it. It stems from their different upbringing. From the way they look at problems and go about solving them. There's a lot to learn about WebRTC to be able to yield it properly, but I think the effort is worth it.
Oh, and if you need some WebRTC training, why not try out my WebRTC courses?
Is it time to change the governance of WebRTC in order to keep it growing and flourishing?
Read MoreRTC@Scale is Facebook’s virtual WebRTC event, covering current and future topics. Here’s the summary for RTC@Scale 2024 so you can pick and choose the relevant ones for you.
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