“(…) Seth Thomas Friday, July 6 2012

Links do matter, but app culture is changing the structure, movement, and experience of what used to be the known as ‘the web’ for more and more people. In the new world of apps, digital experiences may be more discreetly monetizable and tightly controlled as products, but they also tend to be built like little islands — foregoing a lot of the flow and synergy of the web as we’ve come to know it.

Web apps can still easily employ links because the web browser is a fantastically open platform. However, most phones and tablets push their own proprietary applications, making it difficult for the average user to reach content not presented inside a proprietary app. This is my least favorite aspect of the iPhone/iPad revolution; Many operating systems and developers alike have embraced a model that discourages the entire concept of moving between destinations in the digital world.

Consumers vote with their money, and they should make themselves aware of the effects of the platforms they’re supporting. The last thing we need is the web equivalent of a cable company, with all digital culture feeding through a handful of gatekeepers.

Mathew Ingram Saturday, July 7 2012

That’s a great point, Seth — mobile apps don’t handle links well (if at all) which is why web apps are better in many cases, at least when it comes to media. (…)”

via Why links matter: Linking is the lifeblood of the web — Tech News and Analysis.