Mix and match, cut and paste or simply steal: that's the spirit of the Web in the throes of a quiet but messy revolution propelled by the rise of the 'mash-up'.
The term originally meant a mish-mash of ready-made musical influences. A mash-minded DJ might fuse Britney Spears and Extreme Noise Terror, say, in a twisted bid to concoct music that sounds familiar but different.
Now the same post-modern picture applies to the Web in an extension of mainstream 'personalisation' offered by the likes of Google, which lets you tinker with the look of a search engine's home page so you feel comfortable and ready to go. I've toyed with personalisation a lot and found glitches always crop up. As a result, I usually boomerang back to my trusty Web-mail home page, festooned with a sprinkling of headlines.
Alas, all those vibrant pixels are stopping the page coming together like a jigsaw puzzle. Feeling ruthless, I click the target-like cross on the corner of Colorful's window and ... pouf! The program permanently fades from view. Good.
But it's a case of 'missing you already', because now the page looks plain. Anyway, you get the picture - mashing means you can change the scenery on a whim or as much as your desire for efficiency dictates and, in theory, save heaps of time wasted roaming the Web.
