Nobody knows what the split eventually will be between free and commercial sites on the Internet. Ultimately, consumers will decide.
Predictor: Gates, Bill
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 column for the New York Times News Service, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates looked at the general topic of the Internet. He writes: ”Commercial online services such as CompuServe and The Microsoft Network are evolving into communities on the Internet that people pay to belong to. Once you belong, you get a lot of stuff without additional charge – as well as an opportunity to pay even more for certain kinds of content and communications. Nobody knows what the split eventually will be between free and commercial sites on the Internet. Ultimately, consumers will decide.”
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: August 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: Open Access
Name of publication: New York Times
Title, headline, chapter name: The Internet
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/columns/1995essay/essay950815.asp
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney