Notable Quotable: Biggest Internet Events In ’97 From Net Stars

As the new year gets its feet wet we polled some of our colleagues
in the Internet space for their angle on what was notable in 1997. Here’s
the first wave of responses, hot off the modem:

“Rise of Business-To-Business ecommerce–blowing away expectations
on all sides, going stratospheric into 1998.”

–Marc Andreessen, co-founder, Netscape Communications

1. 
   
2. Worldcom buys MCI
3. Microsoft blesses cable modems; buoys the cable industry
4. Microsoft delivers a killer browser in IE 4.0
5. Microsoft buys WebTV
6. Microsoft offers J/Direct to Java community
7. Microsoft goes face to face with DOJ on IE Bundling
8. FCC tables ISP “modem tax” against the wishes of the RBOCs
9. TelSave’s $100 million e-commerce deal with AOL crystallizes the
   value of subscriber/user aggregation
10. Amazon.com’s simultaneous multimillion dollar distribution deals
    with AOL, Yahoo!, and Excite becomes blueprint for other newly public
    e-commerce
    companies
11. Clinton Administration’s e-commerce framework takes a laissez-faire
    approach to global Internet commercialization

Goldman Sach’s Internet analyst Michael Parekh

“1997 was a year in which several commercial models proved viable on
the web and for GeoCities, in particular, electronic commerce and advertising
and sponsorship. I believe The Internet Tax Freedom Act, which is intended
to create a national moratorium on state and local taxes on the Internet,
will be viewed in retrospect to have had a profoundly positive impact on
the commercial growth of this medium.”

–David Bohnett, founder, GeoCities (Web homesteading/community
building)

We have more to share as our colleagues blip them in. And we

’

d also

like to know what you think. If you had to name

one big Internet event
in 1997

that stands out as being the biggest,

send
us an email

. Selected responses will show up here soon.