1.	Internet standards happen quickly while no one is looking.
2.	I don't know the actual history of each layer, but I'd bet my Master's degree that it's true of every standard we use now. Done in the quiet, dark, somewhat fetid room of a Lone Geek, programming into the wee hours, only interrupted by the occasional janitor or trip to the fridge for another caffeinated drink.
3.	Now this is not the story of SOAP. It's been a political football for three years, and the struggle shows no signs of abating. We now have 39 implementations that are not known to interop. And the BigCo's are acting like BigCo's and to their credit, are showing impressive signs of working together, among themselves, but there aren't many Lone Geeks in the loop.