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Why the Internet will Fail! (Newsweek Article from 1995)

Discussion in 'Whatnots' started by Montresor, Mar 1, 2010.

  1. Montresor

    Montresor Mostly Harmless Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder

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    Remove all ads!
    [​IMG] Someone directed me to this article and I just had to share it. :D

    Read the rest at threewordchant.com.
     
    Montresor, Mar 1, 2010
    #1

  2. Tillix Gems: 5/31
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    Cool stuff!

    Well there are some parts in which the writer is - as least still - correct, though.
    It WAS common opinion that the book itsself will die really soon.
    First stuff that has been sold heaviliy on the internet were: books!

    Mh what i don't understand is: 1995 is the year at which the internet was "opened to the public", IIRC. How could the guy have been online for 2 decades then? It also appears to be folish to try to forcast the impact with the internet JUST being opened to public, i.e. commerce...
     
    Tillix, Mar 1, 2010
    #2
  3. Triactus

    Triactus United we stand, divided we fall Veteran

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    haha, funny stuff... :lol:

    Some of his arguments are still valid today, but I think the author (like the majority of people at that time) didn't have enough vision. Though you can hardly blame them since, as Tillix points out, the Internet was just emerging.

    Still, from a retrospect stand point, it's really funny... :D
     
    Triactus, Mar 2, 2010
    #3

  4. The Great Snook Gems: 31/31
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    I think he is correct. This internet fad will never last.
     
    The Great Snook, Mar 2, 2010
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  5. Chandos the Red

    Chandos the Red This Wheel's on Fire

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    What an arrogant fool this guy is. It appears that Newsweek "pundits" lack all common sense, at least they did in 1995.
     
    Chandos the Red, Mar 2, 2010
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  6. Ragusa

    Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Veteran

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    Well, maybe he has read Whatnots. Oh, wait ...
     
    Ragusa, Mar 2, 2010
    #6
  7. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    OHNOZ!!! Teh interwebz is doooomed!!! :eek:

    I better IM my local government officials and make them aware of this impending demise!
     
    Kitrax, Mar 3, 2010
    #7
  8. Marceror

    Marceror Chaos Shall Be Sown In Their Footsteps Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    Sorry for the slight thread necro (in fairness, the post is still on the first page).

    Yeah, total lack of vision for where the internet could go. I'm sure most of us in 1995 had a similar lack of vision, but then again, most of us didn't write articles for Newsweek stating definitively that the internet would fail. I can't fault the writer for his lack of vision, but I can fault him for speaking out of his arse. I’m sure he got a lot of attention over this article when it was released, which based on his lack of acknowledgement that he might be wrong, is what he was going for.

    On the other hand, who could have known just how comfortable your average human would be living in a largely cyber reality. Newspapers are all but about to go the way of the dodo in favor of online news. Online video game obsessions that result marriages dissolving, and in one case, parents neglecting to feed their own baby, allowing her to die of malnutrition? Really? The internet is available everywhere you go, from your cell phone?? What?

    I’d love to see this guy’s 2010 update to this article. “Couldn’t have been more wrong about the Internet’s staying power” would be an appropriate title.

    I’m glad he turned out to be dead wrong, otherwise I might not have a job right now!
     
    Marceror, May 24, 2010
    #8
  9. Harbourboy

    Harbourboy Take thy form from off my door! Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    I bet most of would struggle to predict where things will be at in 15 years time. Who'd have thought 3D movies would have made a comeback, or that mobile phones would have become SO powerful, or that a black man named Barry Hussein would be president of the USA, or that people would STILL be playing Baldur's Gate II?
     
    Harbourboy, May 25, 2010
    #9
  10. Triactus

    Triactus United we stand, divided we fall Veteran

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    When I was in 3rd grade (about 1990), the teacher asked us to draw what the city would look like in the year 2000. We all drew flying cars, spaceships and the like... :lol:
     
    Triactus, May 25, 2010
    #10
  11. Susipaisti

    Susipaisti Maybe if I just sleep... Veteran

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    Damn, I wish the Internet HAD failed. The world would be a better place.
     
    Susipaisti, May 25, 2010
    #11
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