Provision of a national video infrastructure would mean a shift from an ecology of a small number of instances of high quality to a large number of instances of varying quality. Over time … the average quality of production will increase … The design of the broadband network will make the crucial difference in whether goals of promoting diversity are met.
Predictor: Kapor, Mitchell
Prediction, in context:In a 1993 article for Wired magazine, Mitchell Kapor, a co-founder of the Electronic Freedom Foundation, writes: ”There has been a richness and diversity in print media that serves as a role model. Provision of a national video infrastructure would mean a shift from an ecology of a small number of instances of high quality to a large number of instances of varying quality. Over time … the average quality of production will increase … Without an inexpensive, accessible, affordable infrastructure for the distribution of video material, the diversity of useful video material will be limited, and the potential of the medium will not be reached. Until now, there have been bottlenecks of expensive resources at other points in the chain. But thanks to advances in video cameras and desktop video, we’re down to a single chokepoint: distribution. The design of the broadband network will make the crucial difference in whether goals of promoting diversity are met.”
Biography:Mitchell Kapor founded the Lotus Development Corporation and also founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation with WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link) members John Perry Barlow and John Gilmore in 1990 in direct response to a threat to free speech. He was an outspoken supporter of open access to the Internet, and was asked to speak in many venues about the issue, including Congressional hearings. (Pioneer/Originator.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1993
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: Open Access
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Where is the Digital Highway Really Heading? The Case for a Jeffersonian Information Policy
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.03/kapor.on.nii_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney