The nightmare is that newcomers, once they discover the Net’s more trivial kicks, will lose sight of its broader potential. There will be enough newbies online to hi-jack the culture, and when they get lost in the bullshit they’ll drag the whole shooting match down with them. A precious opportunity will be lost forever, and big corporate media suits will lean back in their executive swivel seats and breathe a sigh of relief.
Predictor: Herz, J.C.
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article in Computerworld, writer J.C. Herz shares an excerpt from her book “Surfing on the Internet.” Herz writes: ”Educate the newbies. Convert them. Make them swear allegiance, then put them on patrol for other greenhorns because, after all, newbies aren’t evil. They’re just ignorant. Bringing newbies into the fold is especially important in light of the latest wave of intruders, the conquistadors who come not to settle but to mine, rape and pillage the Net for every cent it’s worth. Yes, friends, I’m talking about the corporate advertisers. Something must be done about these people, lest we all wash away in a tide of junk e-mail and postvertisements. This much is agreed: It’s the closest thing to unanimity in Net history. But no one seems to know what is to be done or who’s going to do it, or even the appropriate venue to stage some show of Net consciousness … The nightmare is that newcomers, once they discover the Net’s more trivial kicks, will lose sight of its broader potential. There will be enough newbies online to hi-jack the culture, and when they get lost in the bullshit they’ll drag the whole shooting match down with them. A precious opportunity will be lost forever, and big corporate media suits will lean back in their executive swivel seats and breathe a sigh of relief. That’s the fear. That’s the impetus behind newbie bashing. That’s also why Net veterans are now turning evangelist. If you can’t drive them away, the reasoning goes, bring them on board. And make them row. Because the way things are heading, we’re going to need lots of warm bodies down in the galley.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: Virtual Communities
Name of publication: Computerworld
Title, headline, chapter name: Newbie Bashing
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=f329ce1feefed32b7369934ff3777189&_docnum=1&wchp=dGLbVlz-lSlAl&_md5=796a7047a90430e8bcc3fe607877ec00
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney