We think the idea that anybody should be allowed to charge a fee for every transaction over the Internet is absurd … It’s just not going to be possible.
Predictor: Clark, Jim
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for Red Herring magazine, Alex S. Vieux interviews Netscape CEO Jim Clark in Madrid, Spain, at the European Technology Roundtable Exposition. Clark says: ”We think the idea that anybody should be allowed to charge a fee for every transaction over the Internet is absurd. We think that Microsoft, in trying to do that, is setting itself up for failure. It’s just not going to be possible. It would be like paying France Telecom a percentage of a wire transfer over the telephone. That’s ridiculous. The only way this could happen is if some company had an absolute monopoly on the Internet, and no one will, if we can help it.”
Date of prediction: October 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: Microtransactions
Name of publication: Red Herring
Title, headline, chapter name: The Once and Future Kings
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.redherring.com/mag/issue2.5/once.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney