Whether you’re a software developer looking for new skills or a business leader looking for a competitive advantage, this chapter is where you will discover how webbots create opportunities.
When I first started writing webbots, they presented both a virtually untapped source of potential projects for software developers and a bountiful resource for business people. Little has changed in subsequent years. Even years since the original publication of this book, the public has yet to realize that most of the Internet’s potential lies outside the capability of the existing browser/website model that most people use. Even today, people are still satisfied with simply pointing a browser at a website and using whatever information or services they happen to find there. With webbots, the focus of the Internet shifts from what’s available on individual websites to what people actually want to accomplish.
For developers and business people to be successful with webbots, they need to stop thinking like other Internet users. Particularly, you need to stop thinking about the Internet in terms of a browser manually viewing one website at a time. This will be difficult, because we’ve all become dependent on using browsers, and the Internet, in this way. While you can do a wide variety of things using a browser in the traditional way, you also pay a price for that versatility. This is because browsers need to be sufficiently generic to be useful in a wide variety of circumstances. As a result, browsers can do generic things well, but they lack the ability to do specific things exceptionally well.[5] Webbots, on the other hand, can be programmed to perform specific tasks to perfection. Additionally, webbots have the ability to automate anything you do online manually and notify you when something needs your attention.
[5] For example, web browsers can’t act on your behalf, filter content for relevance, or perform tasks automatically.