Throughout history, the thoughts and perceptions of the masses have been shaped by leaders of politics, industry and entertainment.
The greatest minds of our time have often predicted and touted some of the most prolific innovations. Lended the support of these voices, these very innovations have shaped the way the world works.
Internet
A prime example would be the Internet. The technology revolutionized communication in the 1990s and led to a surge in investments in Internet-based companies.
What followed is now known as the dotcom bubble[1] - a rapid rise in equity born out of speculative investing in these dotcom companies eventually led to a stock market crash, with many companies with millions of dollars of market capitalization ending up worthless.
However, a lot of companies managed to survive this period - especially Amazon, which is now the biggest Internet retailer in the world[2] and the third most valuable public company globally.
Ironically, some of the greatest investors of our time missed the boat on Amazon and other tech companies - showing that even the most revered industry leaders can get it wrong from time to time.
It’s interesting to see how some of these thought leaders have gauged emerging technologies over the past 25 years. Four of the five richest men in the world have had diverging opinions, as we’ve seen with their predictions on the internet almost two decades ago.
In 1996, Microsoft founder Bill Gates wrote a now famous essay titled ‘Content is King’[3], where he outlined his prediction for what would make the internet a world-shaping invention. His opening line pretty much hit the nail on the head, in terms of how a lot of the Internet is monetized:
“Content is where I expect much of
