The Original WWW: Web Lessons from the Early Days of Radio

1
The Original WWW Web Lessons from the Early Days
of Radio

• Ward Hanson

2
Outline

• Introduction
• Radios commercial beginnings in America
• Broadcasting and the euphoria of 1922
• Shakeouts and business models
• Successful Radio

3
Introduction

• The Original WWW World Wide Wireless.
• RCA corporation, 1920. (Radio Corporation of
  America)
• Changed the way the average person thought about
  distance and time.

4
Radios commercial beginnings in America

• World War I, British Marconi.
• 1919, American Marconi ? Westinghouse.
• RCA (Radio Corporation of America) GE,
  Westinghouse, ATT, United Fruit, Others/Public.
  (Table 1.1)

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Radios commercial beginnings in America

• Breakdown for the radio industry in the early
  postwar period. (Table 1.2)
• One-to-one or one-to-few communication.
• Fee for service.
• RCA undercut price by approximately 30.

6
Broadcasting and the euphoria of 1922

• P2P communication to broadcast.
• The sale of radio receivers during this time of
  extraordinary growth. (Figure 1-1)
• The impact of three forces propelled the
  explosion of radio
• Rapid radio set sales
• Mushrooming growth in signal sources
• Intense public attention

7
Shakeouts and business models

• Combination of hard-headed good business,
  wild-eyed speculation, and public-spirited
  altruism.
• Radio sponsors were well-known department stores,
  car dealers, or newspapers.

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Shakeouts and business models

• Figure 1-2 The euphoria of 1922 cycle

Broadcast Stations
Popular Fascination
Radio Purchases
9
Shakeouts and business models

• Stations opened and closed at roughly the same
  rates in 1924. (Figure 1-3)
• High cost of quality broadcasting.
• It is much more difficult to track the exit and
  deletions of Web pages.

10
Successful Radio

• Radio took time for them to move from the
  well-understood metered service of wireless
  telegraphy to the new world of broadcasting.
• The positive feedback cycle was losing one of its
  public fascination.
• World Wide Web also follow the logic of the new
  medium.