Goodness, if someone were to read my last post, they might think I actually took this article seriously! I've been known to spend disgustingly large amounts of thought on the most trivial subjects. Huzzah!
I think it's the height of irony that his book on this subject is available online.
@Ben Eshbach
If one's goal was to research the failings of commerce on the internet in 1995, I would agree with your first post. I believe the author made some valid points to that end. However, while additional meaning can be drawn from this article, I think interpreting it that way exclusively would undermine its original intent and message.
The author is clearly attempting to repudiate predictions about the future of the internet. He argues why the internet will fail as a tool for commerce, news, etc.
Unfortunately, he chose to operate under the assumption that technological solutions in these areas would not be forthcoming and that the internet would remain little more than a gigantic chat room.
Indeed, if his intention was to claim that the internet is (in 1995) a failure, he did little to define exactly what it's failing at. Similarly, if his intention was to describe "why the internet is a failure," he would have done better to contrast his main points against something other than visionaries' predictions of what might be. (Unless, of course, his intended message was that the internet is a failure at meeting its potential...but that's obviously not the case).
Interesting nevertheless!
Google really goes the extra mile.
Cheers all
@Ben Eshbach
If one's goal was to research the failings of commerce on the internet in 1995, I would agree with your first post. I believe the author made some valid points to that end. However, while additional meaning can be drawn from this article, I think interpreting it that way exclusively would undermine its original intent and message.
The author is clearly attempting to repudiate predictions about the future of the internet. He argues why the internet will fail as a tool for commerce, news, etc.
Unfortunately, he chose to operate under the assumption that technological solutions in these areas would not be forthcoming and that the internet would remain little more than a gigantic chat room.
Indeed, if his intention was to claim that the internet is (in 1995) a failure, he did little to define exactly what it's failing at. Similarly, if his intention was to describe "why the internet is a failure," he would have done better to contrast his main points against something other than visionaries' predictions of what might be. (Unless, of course, his intended message was that the internet is a failure at meeting its potential...but that's obviously not the case).
Cool stuff.
Either way, I guess inventions like this will have to do 'till we can invent invisibility cloaks.