friday night at work i was hanging out with a group of web developers i work with here in boston. on the TV was something that made us all cringe. CNN ran a story about the strange nature of people online and those who have built the world wide web. unwilling to simply report the tragic news, CNN decided to take a closer look at how the internet may have affected these alleged cult members. The usual litany of misinformation followed: the net is packed with people who have trouble expressing themselves in person, the net is a breeding ground for miscreants and wackos, and the programmers who build these sites are somehow different from the rest of us. Its not just CNN, every major news organization hung their analysis on the web development work these people did to earn money. [:30]

In general, those of us in the web development world laugh at these stories -- we know we're not like this and we know that while there are some pretty odd people online, the web certainly didn't make them this way.

Wake up folks. Its not 1975 when mainframe programmer ruled the earth and all things digital were incomprhensible. Those kinds of programmers still exist -- they're the unhelpful computer dudes at your office wearing pocket protectors who insist that any problems you have are not the computer's fault, but your own. These folks are not the life of the party. [:45]

No, in 1997 programmers and web developers are amongst the most outgoing educated and talented young people I have ever seen. There are more women among this group and while they may have more body parts pierced and skateboard more than your average joe, they are also more social and well- adjusted than their peers on Wall Street. I'd take five of them over twice as many old school programmers anyday. [1:00]

what is cool about the web is that it has given a whole new generation of programmers a career track outside corporate america's walls. Just about anyone with a computer and some knowledge can set up a web development shop and make some money. Good programmers in the web world are celebrated not for their master's degrees, but for their creativity and innovation -- the ability to understand what users need and deliver it fast. i can tell you from experience, its is both invigorating and eye opening to work with young web developers. [1:30]

The other cool thing about the web is also what makes misinformation about the medium so likely to occur: the web is expanding and redfining itself so quickly that its hard to keep up. But just because the net allows easy communication around the world does not mean the medium created the message. the web isn't corrupting kids or enabling bad behavior any more than the phone or television or rock and roll. These cults were here before the web, they'll be here after something new surpasses it. Are there weird people working in the online world? You bet... some really bizarre folks are much more visible because of the internet. But you know what, when you go to work on Monday look around you and notice the social misfits that make up *your* office. 2:05

Rich Dean is vice president of of web development at strategic interactive group in boston