Things People Believed 10 Years Ago That Ended Up Being Wrong

In 2007, we were eagerly awaiting new movies in the Pirates of the Caribbean and Spider-Man
franchises.
Beyoncé and Rihanna topped the charts, and everyone was wrapped up in the drama of the
sexy doctors on Grey's Anatomy.
So...life today might not seem that different from our lives back then.
But 2007 wasn't exactly the same as it is now.
A lot of predictions from just ten years ago ended up being kinda bogus.
Observe!
The iPhone would fail!
With a headline that they'll probably regret for the rest of its days, technology-site
TechCrunch confidently announced in 2006: "We Predict the iPhone Will Bomb."
It's a classic "Dewey Defeats Truman" type of headline that will go down as one of the
most wrongheaded predictions ever made.
Now, TechCrunch wasn't insane.
When the iPhone first came out, it seemed ridiculous that a phone would have so many
extraneous uses.
Sure, checking your email on your phone is great, but what else would anyone want to
do on the thing?
Conan O'Brien even ran a sketch making fun of the phone's many uses starring a before-she-was-famous
Ellie Kemper.
"It's lip gloss, a condiment dispenser, mace..."
But why was TechCrunch so sure the iPhone would be a disaster?
Well, they thought the glass would crack too much, they figured people would just buy iPods
instead, and they found the iPhone virtual keyboard laughable, saying "That virtual keyboard
will be about as useful for tapping out emails and text messages as a rotary phone.
Don't be surprised if a sizable contingent of iPhone buyers express some remorse at ditching
their BlackBerry when they spend an extra hour each day pumping out emails on the road."
That did not happen.
Cyborg nation!
In 2007, Brian Williams ran a story about predictions for America's future ten years
down the line.
Since it was coming from Brian Williams, you knew it had to be true and very trustworthy.
It's Brian Williams, America's favorite newsman!
He certainly wouldn't exaggerate a story for dramatic effect or outright lie to the American
public.
[Sad trombone music]
Anyway, the segment focused mainly on how technology would change in a decade's time.
It predicted that everyone in the country would have a cybernetic implant containing
all their personal data.
“The year is 2017.
You’re rushed to a hospital unconscious with no ID or medical history, but thanks
to a microchip under your skin, it’s all there.”
Other predictions about widespread use of facial recognition technology and invasive
marketing techniques were at least a little closer to reality.
But so far, Williams is still striking out on those crazy stories.
In Rainbows would destroy music!
Radiohead made a bold move with the release of their album In Rainbows.
Before selling physical CDs, they'd sell digital downloads, and the customer could pay whatever
they wanted for the album.
For some in the media, this kind of anarchy spelled the end of music as we know it.
The Sunday Times declared it "The day the music industry died," while The Guardian pronounced
it a death knell for up and coming artists, who would never be able to afford to essentially
give their music away for free.
Of course… they were wrong.
The In Rainbows stunt had almost no impact on the industry, but letting fans play songs
for free on YouTube and services like Spotify has become the norm.
Ringtones could save music!
Music executives freaking out about In Rainbows had one trick up their sleeve: Ringtones!
Yes, ten years ago, ringtones were big business, an embarrassing fact for all of us who bought
"Clocks" by Coldplay to let us know when the dermatologist calls to tell us that new ointment
we needed has arrived.
Since the music industry was starting to falter from piracy and the move toward digital single
sales, ringtone sales gave industry insiders hope of a phone revolution.
Madonna even released her song "Hung Up" as a ringtone before it came out as a single.
Luckily for everyone who doesn't want to hear "Mambo No. 5" every time they're in a waiting
room, iPhones arrived.
Remember those?
From earlier in this video?
Suddenly your phone became your music player, and the idea of ringtones saving the music
industry went extinct.
Thank goodness.
“Certainly not the worst ringtone I’ve ever heard.”
“Ring-a-ding-ding-ding-dong.”
“Yeah, that might be the worst.”
People aren't narcissists!
TechCrunch had kind of a rough time in 2007.
After declaring the iPhone was doomed, they doubled down on bad predictions by insisting
that websites like Facebook and Wikipedia — which rely on user generated content — were
doomed because people are just too lazy to keep posting this crap.
Citing the failures of Friendster and MySpace as proof, they reasoned that people would
get tired of updating their profiles and return to their real lives instead.
Wrong again!
TechCrunch obviously didn't realize that for most people, social media is their real life
now!
And with things like YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram all becoming internet mainstays
in the last decade, there's just no telling where this is going to take us over the next
ten years.
Hopefully Brian Williams will be back soon to let us know.
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Things People Believed 10 Years Ago That Ended Up Being Wrong

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