Noise and the need to escape from the noise will drive development of the public Net. Forget infrastructure, forget superhighways, all that hack political vaporware. Feel the noise: buzzing static, fitful low rumbles, the clamor of excited mobs.
Predictor: Rose, Lance
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 essay for ISPworld, Internet law expert Lance Rose comments about the expected crush of newbies on the Net and how they will influence Internet activity. Rose writes: ”The public Net will soon be neck deep in noise. Noise you’ll have to yell over to be heard, like the thunder of a jetliner above, the crunch and grind of a cement truck on the road nearby, the roar of a subway train across a platform. Like the noise that fogs your mind as you move through large crowds, that makes you flee madly from a busy factory the moment your business there ends. Noise and the need to escape from the noise will drive development of the public Net. Forget infrastructure, forget superhighways, all that hack political vaporware. Feel the noise: buzzing static, fitful low rumbles, the clamor of excited mobs … Where is the noise coming from? Start with those who have the cheapest access to the Internet. College students and others with freebie Internet accounts, through public libraries and the like, are a fairly noisy bunch … Then make way for the advertisers, promoters and scam artists … Expect all popular public discussions to be punctuated with frequent commercial messages – noise, noise, noise … The real noise starts up when we look at the stars of tomorrow’s Net – software agents. These dudes are getting a lot of play in the press right now.”
Biography:Lance Rose, a lawyer, earned a high profile for his expertise in Internet issues in the 1990s. He wrote “Netlaw: Your Rights in the Online World” (1995). (Legislator/Politician/Lawyer.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Virtual Communities
Name of publication: ISPworld
Title, headline, chapter name: Legally Online: Noise and the Public Net
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.boardwatch.com/boardwatchOnline/1995/jan95/bwm44.htm
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney