[9742] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
RE: Sizing the Internet market
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Eric H. Jensen)
Wed Jan 19 01:22:55 1994
In-Reply-To: <Pine.3.05.9401182113.A13542-d100000@teal.csn.org>
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 94 22:19:57 -0800
To: "Lloyd Brodsky" <lbrodsky@rocksolid.com>
Cc: com-priv@psi.com
From: "Eric H. Jensen" <ehj@psilink.com>
>1. You have to be able to read and write. (This eliminates...
>2. You have to own or have access to a computer with a modem and a...
>3. You probably need to feel some level of dissatisfaction with the ...
>4. You probably also need to have a predominantly read/written (as ...
>5. Some experience with character-based operating systems with ...
You are limiting to the Internet to the current user interfaces.
Imagine a Nintendo or Sega machine connected to the Internet through
cable. The machine has Mosaic "the next generation" built in and the box
comes with a cheap touch screen that applies to the television screen.
Folks will net surf with their fingers and see all the cool pictures and
sounds we are starting to expect w/ Mosaic. They will interact with
services on a forms basis - select the right box with your finger.
When you need to talk to a service rep, a window opens up and away you
go. This is not rocket science. Modems are fast enough to do this now
- and you can bet folks are working on it.
Voice mail can replace email. There's no reason you can't manage it
the same way you manage text. Octel's visual mailbox is one example.
Same for video mail.
For an extra $40 you can get a keyboard and attach it if you want. How
quaint.
Folks argue what defines the Internet, but the one thing everyone
agrees on is that it's about universal data connectivity. To borrow a
wireless marketing phrase "anytime, anywhere". The bandwidth and QOS
issues are not nearly as important as that binary question "can we
communicate?". The Internet answer is "yes, right now!".
This is what is turning the meaning of publishing on it's ear. This
is what will enable really "smart markets". This is what will sharpen the
distinction between a republic and democracy.
I suggest, as so many others have, that universal connectivity is the
crux of the paradigm shift that makes the Internet unstoppable and so
compelling.
So when thinking about who the customer is in a big picture fashion
don't look at what we do today. Think about what we can do tommorow.
eric
p.s. sometimes I wonder what Kuhn thinks (would think?) about all of
today's "paradigm shifts".
