It is 1995.

Your computer modem screeches as it tries to connect to something called the internet. Maybe it works. Maybe you try again.

For the first time in history, you can exchange letters with someone across the world in seconds. Only 2000-something websites exist1, so you could theoretically visit them all over a weekend. Most websites are just text on gray backgrounds with the occasional pixelated image2. Loading times are brutal. A single image takes a minute, a 1-minute video could take hours. Most people do not trust putting their credit cards online. The advice everyone gives: don’t trust strangers on the internet.

People split into two camps very soon.

Optimists predict grand transformations. Some believe digital commerce will overtake physical retail within years. Others insist we’ll wander around in virtual reality worlds…

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