The History of the Internet

I spoke the other night at Aaron Cohens class.  He teaches at NYU and his class is called The History of the Internet.  Considering I lived through the history it was a perfect place to speak. 

When I walked into the classroom they were discussing a paper that Mary Meeker wrote in 1996.  She believed in certain companies to invest in although cautious.  She also was bold in her prediction of how many people would be using the Internet in 10 years.  She fell short by about 30%.  Ended up that the Internet actually turned out to be bigger than many thought. 

The class was also discussing social media.  Will Facebook still be as important ten years from now as today?  One kid said he would short Apple and be long on Facebook.  As always interesting to hear the perspective from a group of college students.

It is great that Aaron is teaching this class.  It doesn't seem that long ago to me and so I am not sure I would refer to it as history but it is.  In order to know where we go from here it is always important to understand the past. 

The first generation of entrepreneurs were different than the generation of entrepreneurs who rethought the web in 2006 and the next generation is going to be different again. Each generation grows up incorporating technology into their lives in different ways and that usage creates ideas on what could be next. 

I talked about what I wanted to do when I was graduating college.  What I would tell my 20 year old self if I went back again and about what road should I follow.  I basically told my life line story, the career I have had, the hiccups along the road and where I am today and what I do.  Questions and answers to the students and to Aaron.

All and all a really wonderful evening.  I am definitely looking forward to speaking to a room of bright eyed students again.  There really is nothing else quite like it.