--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is too early to tell whether the…" description: "\"“It is too early to tell whether the Internet’s effect on media will be as radical as that of the printing press. It is not too early to tell that ther..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/john-naughton-48958_internet_it-is-too-early-to-tell-whether-the-inte_999429.jpg" --- # It is too early to tell whether the Internet’s effect on… ![“It is too early to tell whether the Internet’s effect on media will be as radical as that of the printing press. It is not too early to tell that there is nothing that happened between 1450 and now that comes close.’49” quote by John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/john-naughton-48958_internet_it-is-too-early-to-tell-whether-the-inte_999429.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/john-naughton-48958_internet_it-is-too-early-to-tell-whether-the-inte_999429.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f98/john-naughton-48958_internet_it-is-too-early-to-tell-whether-the-inte_999429.jpg) > ““It is too early to tell whether the Internet’s effect on media will be as radical as that of the printing press. It is not too early to tell that there is nothing that happened between 1450 and now that comes close.’49”” [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Internet may reshape media as radically as the printing press, but no comparable shift has occurred since 1450. **In simple terms:** Internet could be as transformative as printing, yet no similar change since 1450. Key Takeaway Watch for emerging media disruptions. Themes media technology history Mood analytical speculative Type academic observational When to use this quote - Startups - journalism - education - policy making Key Concepts Disruption theory information diffusion Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate a media revolution? - How might future tech differ from past shifts? A Different Perspective Predicting impact is uncertain; other factors may limit change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1450 Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/1450-comes-2099021/) [Happened 1450](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened-1450-2099022/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Internet Effect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet-effect-2099025/) [Media Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media-radical-2099024/) [Press Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/press-early-2099023/) [Printing press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/printing-press/) [Too early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-early/) ## Related quotes > [To watch the progress of such endeavors is the office of a free press. To give us early alarm and put us on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/to-watch-the-progress-of-such-endeavors-is-the-office-of-a-free-press/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [We were disliked by the press in the early days because they couldn't put their finger on us, and that was the case with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/we-were-disliked-by-the-press-in-the-early-days-because-they-couldn-t/) [Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/) > [Things like social media and the Internet, of course, it's not going away. There is no cure for it. And this shouldn't be just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/things-like-social-media-and-the-internet-of-course-it-s-not-going/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [Think for a moment of the great agents and engines of our civilization, and then think what shadowy ideas they all once were. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/think-for-a-moment-of-the-great-agents-and-engines-of-our/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [Even with the sacred printing press, we got erotic novels 150 years before we got scientific journals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/even-with-the-sacred-printing-press-we-got-erotic-novels-150-years/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/the-u-s-government-has-a-technology-called-a-printing-press-or-today-2/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [“The Chinese people had invented the compass, paper, the printing press, gunpowder, the seismograph, the crossbow, and the umbrella; they had sailed to Africa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hessler/the-chinese-people-had-invented-the-compass-paper-the-printing-press/) [Peter Hessler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hessler/) > [We become, after the arrival of the printing press in general, more attentive more attuned to contemplative ways of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/we-become-after-the-arrival-of-the-printing-press-in-general-more/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [Ink is the blood of the printing-press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/ink-is-the-blood-of-the-printing-press/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [I am not offering this is a critique of the internet, its just that there are a lot of factors involved. It does offer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-am-not-offering-this-is-a-critique-of-the-internet-its-just-that/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [At Facebook, we’re inspired by technologies that have revolutionized how people spread and consume information. We often talk about inventions like the printing press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/at-facebook-we-re-inspired-by-technologies-that-have-revolutionized/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [“I’d like to see a lot of this stuff in print before I die—but not the bulk of it, oh no! I am not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-like-to-see-a-lot-of-this-stuff-in-print-before-i-die-but-not-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/the-u-s-government-has-a-technology-called-a-printing-press-or-today/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [TV is bigger than any story it reports. It's the greatest teaching tool since the printing press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-w-friendly/tv-is-bigger-than-any-story-it-reports-it-s-the-greatest-teaching/) [Fred W. Friendly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-w-friendly/) > [“For the last five centuries, ever since Gutenberg's printing press made book reading a popular pursuit, the linear, literary mind has been at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/for-the-last-five-centuries-ever-since-gutenberg-s-printing-press/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) ## More by John Naughton > [Appeasement, said Winston Churchill, consists of being nice to a crocodile in the hope that he will eat you last. At the moment, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/appeasement-said-winston-churchill-consists-of-being-nice-to-a/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [Computer programmers tend, by and large, to be quirky and highly individualistic. Trying to organize or manage such awkward characters is normally as thankless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/computer-programmers-tend-by-and-large-to-be-quirky-and-highly/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [A paradigm is a powerful theoretical and methodological framework which defines the working lives of thousands of intelligent and disciplined minds. And paradigms do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/a-paradigm-is-a-powerful-theoretical-and-methodological-framework/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [Nostalgia isn't a business model](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/nostalgia-isn-t-a-business-model/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [What worries me is that we are increasingly enmeshed in incompetent systems, that is, systems that exhibit pathological behaviour but cant fix themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/what-worries-me-is-that-we-are-increasingly-enmeshed-in-incompetent/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [Elegance? It may seem odd to non-scientists, but there is an aesthetic in software as there is in every other area of intellectual endeavour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/elegance-it-may-seem-odd-to-non-scientists-but-there-is-an-aesthetic/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) > [To say that Sputnik gave rise to some concern in the United States would be the understatement of the century. The truth is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naughton/to-say-that-sputnik-gave-rise-to-some-concern-in-the-united-states/) [John Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) [Explore all 8 John Naughton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naughton/) ## More Internet quotes > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [I enjoy upsetting the right people. I love poking fun at earnest censors. I want to push the bounds of what can be said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/i-enjoy-upsetting-the-right-people-i-love-poking-fun-at-earnest/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [Though 'Fat City' was written long before cellphones or the Internet, its human apparatus is state of the art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/though-fat-city-was-written-long-before-cellphones-or-the-internet/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Note to self: If you do not know how to spell a big scary spiders name, DO NOT look it up on the internet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-eisele/note-to-self-if-you-do-not-know-how-to-spell-a-big-scary-spiders-name/) [Becky Eisele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-eisele/) > [I remembered reading about a disease called Leishmaniasis, which matched my symptoms. I'd always thought it was an old wives' tale - a sand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fogle/i-remembered-reading-about-a-disease-called-leishmaniasis-which/) [Ben Fogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fogle/) > [The Internet lets thousands of total strangers collaborate to produce a truly hivelike result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-thompson/the-internet-lets-thousands-of-total-strangers-collaborate-to-produce/) [Clive Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-thompson/) > [People are reading more and writing more because of the internet. So the virtual world is a way for me to listen to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-are-reading-more-and-writing-more-because-of-the-internet-so/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I don't have faith in the Internet, I have faith in people connected through the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gilliam/i-don-t-have-faith-in-the-internet-i-have-faith-in-people-connected/) [Jim Gilliam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gilliam/) > [The internet is very democratizing in some ways, but it also has other effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/the-internet-is-very-democratizing-in-some-ways-but-it-also-has-other/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [One of the Internet's highest-profile companies, Priceline once dreamed of transforming the way consumer goods are bought and sold by offering customers the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/one-of-the-internet-s-highest-profile-companies-priceline-once/) [Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [“Some innovations just don’t attract enough economic or social demand: just as supersonic flight and manned space flight stagnated after the 1970s, today (in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-j-rees/some-innovations-just-don-t-attract-enough-economic-or-social-demand/) [Martin J. Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-j-rees/) > [Moveon is not a one-way broadcast media. The Internet, when used best, is a two-way media. We have a forum in which people can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-blades/moveon-is-not-a-one-way-broadcast-media-the-internet-when-used-best/) [Joan Blades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-blades/) [Browse all 9,049 Internet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is too early to tell whether the Internet’s effect on media will be as radical as that of the printing press. 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