4 ms·

In 1995, I don't recall a lot of people actively against the internet. It's true that most businesses didn't believe it was relevant to them.

koonsolo 5y ago
In 1995, I didn't know anybody who had internet.
- MattPalmer1086 5y ago
  I had access at work, but not at home.
kkielhofner 5y ago
Look at the WHOIS registration dates for the internet domains of the Fortune 500 in 1996. Almost all businesses knew within a few years that it was valuable to them. Go on the Wayback Machine (starts in '96) and check out the various websites for General Electric, Toyota, GM, you name it. They were there. Here's a taste from the Fortune 500[1] in 1996: GM: gm.com - 1992-01-16T00:00:00Z Ford: ford.com - 1988-09-01T00:00:00Z Exxon Mobile: exxon.com - 1991-01-03T05:00:00Z Wal-Mart: walmart.com - 1995-02-23T00:00:00Z AT&T: att.net (among others) - 1993-12-13T00:00:00Z General Electric: ge.com - 1986-08-05T00:00:00Z Mobil: mobil.com - 1991-02-01T05:00:00+0000 Chrysler: chrysler.com - 1993-06-16T00:00:00Z Altria Group: 2000-03-14T21:05:01Z So there you have it - 9/10 of the most valuable companies in the world had a domain name and website by 1995 (the only one missing being a tobacco giant). I don't think I would say "most businesses didn't believe it was relevant to them". [1] https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500_archive/full/1996/ https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500_arc...
- koonsolo 5y ago
  Look at all the big companies accepting crypto in 2022: https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin/who-accepts/ https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin/who-accepts/ In 25 years, we can have a discussion of "Look it was obvious, all these big companies were accepting crypto in 2022". Edit: my point is not that crypto succcess is obvious, my point is that internet success wasn't obvious.
- MattPalmer1086 5y ago
  Interesting, but big companies aren't most companies, so I'll stand by my assertion that most businesses didn't see the relevance at that point. There were only around 500 web servers globally by 1994.
  - kkielhofner 5y ago
    I don't know why we've moved the goalposts to 1994. Anyway, ENS has been available for five years (ethereum for seven, blockchain for 13). What businesses that are doing something other than sell their crypto project have an ENS domain? You're accurate in that the plumber down the street, local dentist, bakery, etc likely didn't see the relevance of the web in 1994-1996. 13 years after bitcoin later I've been to maybe five of these types of businesses that take crypto or have anything to do with blockchain. 13 years after the release of the web there were over 85 million websites with a billion eyeballs. Bitcoin didn't even show up on Google Trends until 2011. Two years after the web 9/10 of the top 10 Fortune 500 had a domain. I'm doing my best to be respectful but how is this even a debate at this point?
    - MattPalmer1086 5y ago
      1994 was just the only stat I could easily find, only trying to show the web was pretty small back then. I don't think crypto is doing anything useful. It's been around long enough to have had important things (other than trading crypto tokens) built on it. I just don't think most businesses saw the relevance of the internet in 1995, but it certainly grew fast and kept growing. Not trying to be disrespectful, I just think we may be talking past each other a bit.
      - acdha 5y ago
        I think I generally agree: “most businesses” would include the guy who mows lawns or repairs shoes, but I think I would draw a divide for professional or especially technical services — they might not have been heavily online but I think they were starting to think that was becoming expected and if they did anything exchanging non-massive files there was a big time advantage to not paying FedEx or a courier to take floppies or CDs around town.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

koonsolo 5y ago

In 1995, I didn't know anybody who had internet.

MattPalmer1086 5y ago
I had access at work, but not at home.

kkielhofner 5y ago

Look at the WHOIS registration dates for the internet domains of the Fortune 500 in 1996. Almost all businesses knew within a few years that it was valuable to them. Go on the Wayback Machine (starts in '96) and check out the various websites for General Electric, Toyota, GM, you name it. They were there. Here's a taste from the Fortune 500[1] in 1996: GM: gm.com - 1992-01-16T00:00:00Z Ford: ford.com - 1988-09-01T00:00:00Z Exxon Mobile: exxon.com - 1991-01-03T05:00:00Z Wal-Mart: walmart.com - 1995-02-23T00:00:00Z AT&T: att.net (among others) - 1993-12-13T00:00:00Z General Electric: ge.com - 1986-08-05T00:00:00Z Mobil: mobil.com - 1991-02-01T05:00:00+0000 Chrysler: chrysler.com - 1993-06-16T00:00:00Z Altria Group: 2000-03-14T21:05:01Z So there you have it - 9/10 of the most valuable companies in the world had a domain name and website by 1995 (the only one missing being a tobacco giant). I don't think I would say "most businesses didn't believe it was relevant to them". [1] https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500_archive/full/1996/ https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500_arc...

koonsolo 5y ago
Look at all the big companies accepting crypto in 2022: https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin/who-accepts/ https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin/who-accepts/ In 25 years, we can have a discussion of "Look it was obvious, all these big companies were accepting crypto in 2022". Edit: my point is not that crypto succcess is obvious, my point is that internet success wasn't obvious.
MattPalmer1086 5y ago
Interesting, but big companies aren't most companies, so I'll stand by my assertion that most businesses didn't see the relevance at that point. There were only around 500 web servers globally by 1994.
- kkielhofner 5y ago
  I don't know why we've moved the goalposts to 1994. Anyway, ENS has been available for five years (ethereum for seven, blockchain for 13). What businesses that are doing something other than sell their crypto project have an ENS domain? You're accurate in that the plumber down the street, local dentist, bakery, etc likely didn't see the relevance of the web in 1994-1996. 13 years after bitcoin later I've been to maybe five of these types of businesses that take crypto or have anything to do with blockchain. 13 years after the release of the web there were over 85 million websites with a billion eyeballs. Bitcoin didn't even show up on Google Trends until 2011. Two years after the web 9/10 of the top 10 Fortune 500 had a domain. I'm doing my best to be respectful but how is this even a debate at this point?
  - MattPalmer1086 5y ago
    1994 was just the only stat I could easily find, only trying to show the web was pretty small back then. I don't think crypto is doing anything useful. It's been around long enough to have had important things (other than trading crypto tokens) built on it. I just don't think most businesses saw the relevance of the internet in 1995, but it certainly grew fast and kept growing. Not trying to be disrespectful, I just think we may be talking past each other a bit.
    - acdha 5y ago
      I think I generally agree: “most businesses” would include the guy who mows lawns or repairs shoes, but I think I would draw a divide for professional or especially technical services — they might not have been heavily online but I think they were starting to think that was becoming expected and if they did anything exchanging non-massive files there was a big time advantage to not paying FedEx or a courier to take floppies or CDs around town.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]