Computer network experts argue that the Internet is also a technology that can change the nature of communication, often leading to more intimate and compulsive exchanges of information that would occur, say, by writing letters or chatting on the phone … It is the prospect of tapping into this much-discussed special nature of the Net – as computer networks are generically known – that really excites some business people. More than just a tool, they view the Internet as a vast marketplace of the future, changing the way people shop and spend. Yet this brave new commercial world is mostly hope and hype so far.
Predictor: Lewis, Peter H.
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article for The New York Times about businesses on the Internet, Peter Lewis writes: ”The Internet, which took form a decade ago as a data link among a handful of academic communities, is being commandeered by businesses. Sometime soon, perhaps this summer, the number of commercial computers linked directly to the Internet, known as host computers, will surpass their counterparts in the academic world, and neither the Internet nor business will ever be quite the same. The growth is frantic. Dozens of companies are being formed each month to offer Internet services to businesses and individuals. Phone companies are working overtime to provide more telephone lines to companies eager for Internet bandwidth. Consultants are in demand. Internet classes and seminars have waiting lists … The Internet is undeniably a powerful new communications tool – inexpensive, open 24 hours a day and global in reach. But computer network experts argue that the Internet is also a technology that can change the nature of communication, often leading to more intimate and compulsive exchanges of information that would occur, say, by writing letters or chatting on the phone. In its noncommercial guise, the Internet has brought people of common interests together, from Chaucer scholars to owners of vintage Hewlett-Packard calculators, in so-called virtual communities. And it is the prospect of tapping into this much-discussed special nature of the Net – as computer networks are generically known – that really excites some business people. More than just a tool, they view the Internet as a vast marketplace of the future, changing the way people shop and spend. Yet this brave new commercial world is mostly hope and hype so far.”
Date of prediction: June 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: E-commerce
Name of publication: New York Times
Title, headline, chapter name: Getting Down to Business on the Net
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=2d555ca3bdfd807323c0b76a4946758f&_docnum=15&wchp=dGLbVzb-lSlAl&_md5=0ec888e2dc3412a56a2f5466b967eee0
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Pagano, Shawna