4,200 predictions, biographies, and more
This is a searchable and browsable selection of predictive remarks made between 1990 and 1995 about the future of networked communications. The Early 1990s Predictions Database contains more than 4,200 statements made by 1,000 different voices of that time, from well-connected stakeholders to common netizens.
They tell about their hopes and fears for the future, their concerns and conflicts. It is the story of the people who supported or opposed a networked world. They tell it all in their own words.
The Early 1990s Predictions Database was compiled during in a content study of early 1990s media in 2003. Funded by Elon University and Pew Research, the project was led by Elon University professor Janna Anderson, who involved 65 Elon undergraduate students in assisting her in finding and recording the predictions. A collection of an eclectic group of Internet pioneers prescient projections for the potential future of the internet, the database illuminates revealing slices of history.
To do a specific search of the database, click here
Browse through a few collections of highlight quotes:
To browse through three themed collections of predictions entries from the 1990s, follow these links:
Brief, Biting Predictions
Edgy-Incisive Predictions
“Information Highway” Predictions
In addition, the Early 1990s database site includes:
Acronyms of the 1990s – From AAT to OOPS to RFC to WYSIWYG to ZDS, the letters all meant something to technology folks.
Biographies of 200 fascinating internet people of the ’90s – Interesting people, listed from A to Z, or Aboba to Zisman.
Synonyms of the 1990s – There were many names for the Internet, including “information superhighway.”
Methodology information:
Database Details – An explanation of how the Early 1990s predictions were gathered
Database Search Fields – A detailed explanation of exactly how the 1990s predictions were found and sorted
Prediction Categories – A grid showing the topics and subtopics for predictions as they are classified for the site
Prediction Cues – How many ways are there to say “I predict”? The most common cue is the word “will” and its derivations
Early Internet History – A quick look at the earliest stages of development of the Internet, from the 1960s to the 1990s, as it was known in 2003