It'll Never Work

For every new ideas,  there’ll be a chorus of negativity.  

Here are some notable quotes from the past that reflect skepticism about certain inventions and technologies:

—There's no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." - Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), in 1977. This quote reflects the common belief at the time that computers would not have a place in everyday life.

—“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, in 1943. This quote highlights the underestimation of the demand for computers.

—“The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication."- Western Union internal memo, 1876. This statement dismissed the potential of the telephone, which would go on to revolutionize communication.

—“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his radio concept in 1920. This quote shows skepticism toward the viability of radio.

—“The idea of a flying machine is impossible."- 19th-century critics of early aviation pioneers like the Wright brothers. This attitude persisted until the first successful flights.

New ideas are almost always met with resistance. From haters, non believers or simply skeptics.  

I’ve experienced a few of these as in:

—1968 while designing the “Superstars” format at the expense of school,  the overwhelming response from big broadcasters was that popular music will never be successful on FM. Not enough receivers.  AM is too engrained,  hippy music is a fad. You’re just a kid what do you know?

—1998 the Internet will never succeed because it can’t be monetized.  

—2001 upon the XM launch,  the negativity was strong.  No one will pay for radio,  there’s already 10000 stations,  no one. will pay for a receiver,  there’s no demand for eclectic formats etc…

—2010 no-one can fix newspapers.  This is an odd one because we could have made an impact but circa 1938 thinking was so engrained in the cultures that noticeable innovation was nearly impossible. 

We’re going to launch Newsfix in 2026,  I can only guess at the cries of “It’ll never work”.  A rite of passage…