If you want a sentence to end with a chuckle to show that its meaning is intended to be humorous, you might add a colon, a dash, and a parenthesis. This composite symbol, :-), if viewed sideways, makes a smiling face … These “emoticons,” which are half cousins of the exclamation point, probably won’t survive the transition of e-mail into a medium that permits audio and video.
Predictor: Gates, Bill
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “The Road Ahead,” Microsoft CEO Bill Gates writes: ”Now electronic mail is becoming the primary tool for exchanging messages. Print conventions have also evolved. If you want a sentence to end with a chuckle to show that its meaning is intended to be humorous, you might add a colon, a dash, and a parenthesis. This composite symbol, :-), if viewed sideways, makes a smiling face … These ’emoticons,’ which are half cousins of the exclamation point, probably won’t survive the transition of e-mail into a medium that permits audio and video.”
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: Communication
Subtopic: E-mail
Name of publication: The Road Ahead (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Chapter 7: Implications for Business
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 141
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne