This, by far, seemed the most authentic, the most unique, and different, form HotWired could embrace. We discussed how the Web as a medium is not conducive to this kind of interactivity. Web pages are essentially static, doing nothing unless you initiate something. As originally envisioned, HotWired would contain elements that were not Web-based. Bayer's article has wound its way through many a Web-development firm, unsettling everyone.
All new media follow the same cycle of development and the Web is no exception.
Upon initial release, new media is embraced by technophiles with excitement and little understanding of its limits, of how it shapes information or makes possible new kinds of information. The second phase is a weeding-out process. In the final phase, content actually transcends the expected, playing off the established narrative techniques to create material which could not have been imagined in phase one. This is where a medium matures and masses of people, as opposed to technophiles, realize that there is something truly engaging and worthwhile here. Phase two for commercial Web-content developers is kicking in.