With all of these new technologies emerging (of course not without consumer reviews spackling the internet) I can’t help but wonder what people were saying 15 years ago about the technology coming out then—cell phones, internet, the proliferation of online advertising, etc. I used PSU’s library database to search for old news articles, and I’ve decided to share some of my findings…
(Sidenote: I sometimes have anxiety attacks about how much tuition I’m paying and I get overwhelming urges to collect everything I can from this institution.)
Here are some quotes I pulled.
Advertising Age, 12/23/96:
“I see a lot of crap and poorly thought-out stuff about to emerge,'' said a top exec at one company involved in the Web device market. “We do like the idea of combining the TV and the Internet in some way, but this early iteration probably won't get Joe Consumer to log in.”
“Real-time chat generates up to 70% of total revenue for commercial online services. Regardless, companies like Electric Minds, HotWired Network WebGenesis and iChat are plugging along with big plans to turn chat into a major ad medium.”
“Silent sponsorships, staggered ad rotations and user-only chats are ways that sites are attempting to keep advertising as unobtrusive as possible. But we think the jury is still out on chat as the next great ad medium.”
Advertising Age, 6/24/96:
"Advertisers are just beginning to think about this concept of building Web sites to meet marketing objectives," said keynote speaker Bill Harvey, president of Next Century Media.
PC Magazine, 2/15/99
Their Palo Alto-based company is just five months old but is already receiving mail from would-be investors. "Our goal is to bring a really great search tool to as many people as possible," said [Sergey] Brin. "It's a great environment to be on the cutting edge."
--In reference to Google.
And people… THIS is my favorite one:
Chicago Tribune, 12/16/94:
These days, some shoppers with busy schedules and limited patience are going high-tech, arming themselves with cellular phones, beepers, even two-way radios to ease the pain of holiday crunch time.
"It has gotten to the point where it's almost amusing to see so many people in the mall using their cell phones," observed Paula Guiliano, marketing director at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg.
"We look like nerds talking on these things in the store, but they really work great," Gilbert said.
And a customer's ringing cellular phone can create a touch of chaos, sending store salesmen and other customers scurrying for their own mobile phones, said Johnston at Sharper Image. Not to mention the fact that a ringing mobile phone might sound uncannily similar to a store security alarm.
"It can be quite a scene when someone's phone goes off in the store," Johnston said.
Quite a scene.
HQ
