In this vision, the Net is thoroughly commercialized, produced by professionals, and carries a charge, or advertising or both. Publishing information on the Internet becomes so expensive that free or nearly free access to it by individuals almost ceases to exist.
Predictor: Wetherell, David
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for New Scientist, Joe Flower quotes David Wetherell, CEO of Booklink Technologies. Flower writes: ”[One Internet development scenario pictures] the Internet as a cyberspace version of a gargantuan shopping mall, dominated by big companies. In this vision, the Net is thoroughly commercialized, produced by professionals, and carries a charge, or advertising or both. Publishing information on the Internet becomes so expensive that free or nearly free access to it by individuals almost ceases to exist. David Wetherell, chief executive officer of Booklink Technologies in Wilmington, Mass., a company that develops software for navigating the Internet, finds this scenario worrying. ‘The great thing about the Internet today is that no one owns it. If you have a good product or service, you can put it up on the network and let the people decide if it’s good.'”
Biography:David Wetherell was running College Marketing Group in the 1990s when he started Booklink Technologies to sell textbooks to college professors. He set up the @Ventures fund to bankroll Internet startups, including a big infusion of cash for Lycos in 1995. He launched a host of subsidiaries to provide key infrastructure for emerging e-commerce. CMG became Internet holding company CMGI Inc. Business Week called him the “Internet Evangelist,” and he was named one of Time magazine’s “Digital 50.” (Entrepreneur/Business Leader.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: New Scientist
Title, headline, chapter name: Idiot’s Guide to the Net: From Boston’s Cyberbars to Siena’s Schoolrooms, Some of the Frequently Asked Questions About the Network that Connects Us All
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 2222
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney