One way for the advertisers to capture your attention will be to offer a small amount of money Ð a nickel or a dollar, perhaps Ð if you will look at an ad. When you have watched it, or as youÕre interacting with it, your electronic account gets credited and the advertiserÕs electronic account is debited. In effect, some of the billions of dollars now spent annually on media advertising, and on the printing and postage of direct-mail advertising will instead be divvied up among consumers who agree to watch or read ads sent directly to them as messages É This may sound a little strange, but it is just another use of the market mechanism for friction-free capitalism. The advertiser decides how much money it is willing to bid for your time, and you decide what your time is worth.
Predictor: Gates, Bill
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “The Road Ahead,” Microsoft CEO Bill Gates writes:ÒOne way for the advertisers to capture your attention will be to offer a small amount of money Ð a nickel or a dollar, perhaps Ð if you will look at an ad. When you have watched it, or as youÕre interacting with it, your electronic account gets credited and the advertiserÕs electronic account is debited. In effect, some of the billions of dollars now spent annually on media advertising, and on the printing and postage of direct-mail advertising will instead be divvied up among consumers who agree to watch or read ads sent directly to them as messages É This may sound a little strange, but it is just another use of the market mechanism for friction-free capitalism. The advertiser decides how much money it is willing to bid for your time, and you decide what your time is worth.Ó
Biography:Bill Gates, the most influential technology entrepreneur of the late 20th century, was the primary author of the prediction-packed 1995 book “The Road Ahead” and is the founder and CEO of Microsoft Corporation. (Entrepreneur/Business Leader.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: Advertising/PR
Name of publication: The Road Ahead (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Chapter 8: Friction-Free Capitalism
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 173, 174
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne