The prediction, in brief:

Today people buy bits of dead cellulose and have an emotional experience. Maybe there’s a way to use a piece of dead silicon instead.

Predictor: Evans, John

Prediction, in context:

In a 1993 article for the New York Times, technology reporter John Markoff interviews News Corporation executive John Evans. Markoff writes:”Even officials at the News Corporation acknowledge that size and economic influence in themselves will not guarantee that large publishers eventually displace smaller start-ups in an environment where any computer connected to the network can serve as an electronic publishing house. But they say that their ability to use other media to promote their Internet products will give them an edge. ‘We certainly have the power to promote what we build,’ said John Evans, president of News and Electronic Data Inc., a News Corporation subsidiary in Clinton, N.J. ‘Today people buy bits of dead cellulose and have an emotional experience,’ he said, referring to the print media. ‘Maybe there’s a way to use a piece of dead silicon instead.'”

Date of prediction: January 1, 1993

Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information

Subtopic: Publishing

Name of publication: New York Times

Title, headline, chapter name: A New Information Mass Market

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Section D; Page 1; Column 3: Financial Desk

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney