The Poynter Institute has a fabulous website that I read regularly. I can satisfy my jones for techie leads, news stories and writing tips in one place. Today, they ran a bit about Caterina Fake, who co-founded Flickr and now is in charge of Yahoo!’s technology development group. She spoke at a conference in Munich about the future of the internet, or more specifically, the ‘sunset of the Web’. Her point is that internet usage is increasingly happening on things like cell phones and PDAs – devices that really have no use for the graphics that make web viewing so interesting. She’s right about that – the demand for simple sites that don’t take forever to load and just deliver the information is increasing. If recent trends are any indication, within a few years, handheld devices will be as common and as inexpensive as cell phones.

I’m of two minds about this. On one hand, I can’t tell you the number of times in recent months that I’ve been away from my computer but needed something in my email account. One of my big issues with computers in general is how I feel as though I’m chained to one spot when I’m using them. This is a relatively new thing – I used to be able to spend hours playing games like Civ 2 or The Sims. Now I’d rather be outside, or at least sitting on my couch.

On the other hand, the massive number of cell phones in the world poses serious problems, environmentally as well as politically. Hard plastics used in electronics like these are usually treated with chemicals that don’t break down, and can’t be disposed of in landfills. Compounding the situation is the fact that the high demand for the minerals that make our gadgets lightweight and environmentally friendly is fueling civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It’s a very stark example of the way a luxury like having the ability to check my email while sitting on a bench in downtown St. Petersburg means pain and suffering for someone else.

But let’s say that cell phones and Blackberries are environmentally friendly and don’t result in mass murder and rape. Putting all of that aside, I think she’s probably right. There will always be a place for graphic-intensive sites on the internet, especially as laptops continue to become smaller and cheaper with more advanced technology. Some sites – like news portals, travel sites and online catalogs – need images. Ultimately, though, people are all about getting the information as fast as possible. Think about Craigslist. That site is wildly popular. Last week, we put up an ad for our prelit artificial Christmas tree. (We’ve had it for six years, and we’ve decided that we now want a prelit artificial palm tree for Christmas instead.) Within four hours, we had seven responses. There’s nothing special about the design or the layout. It’s the function that makes it so well-loved. (For a good time waster, check out the Best of Craigslist.