In a 1995 Newsweek article, author and astronomer Clifford Stoll wrote: We’re promised instant catalog shopping—just point and click for great deals…Stores will become obsolete. So how come my local mall does more business in an afternoon than the entire Internet handles in a month? Even if there were a trustworthy way to send money over the Internet—which there isn’t—the network is missing a most essential ingredient of capitalism: salespeople.”
In the same 1995 Newsweek article, Stoll wrote, “The truth is, no online database will replace your daily newspaper.” Countless newspapers have since gone out of business and at the end of 2012, Newsweek went completely digital.
Stoll wasn’t the only one who was way off with his predictions about the Internet.
Could Bill Gates Be Wrong?
In 2004, Bill Gates said, “spam will soon be a thing of the past.” Unless you live under a rock, you know that this couldn’t be more wrong. Even in 2014 spam is everywhere and might actually be worse than the 2004 prediction.
In 1995, Robert Metcalfe said the Internet will “go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse.” Although many hackers dream about being able to take the Internet down, to this day it has not happened. What would we do without being connected 24 hours a day?
In another prediction that was completely wrong Lawyer and researcher Peter Huber stated, “The Web means the end of Big Brother”. Huber went on to say “The increasing ease of communication in the Internet era, would make it impossible for governments or corporations to control the flow of information.” This prediction might be the furthest from the truth with tech companies such as Facebook and Google who have vast amounts of data on each users, and let’s not forget former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden who revealed a government spying programs that can track people around the world wherever they go online. SCARY!
These are just a few examples of failed predictions about the Internet. What predictions do you have for the Internet in the coming years? Let us know in the comments section!
