When vision has become reality, what's the next vision?

20 years from now, Al Gore talked about the information highways and the actions that the State was going to take to ensure their fast, sustainable and fair development.

(...) The new information marketplace based on these highways include four major components:

• First, owners of the highways -- because unlike the interstates, the information highways will be built, paid for and funded by the private sector;
• Second, makers of information appliances, like televisions, telephones and computers, and new products of the future that will combine the features of all three;
• Third, information providers -- local broadcasters, digital libraries, information service providers, and millions of individuals who will have information they want to share or sell; ...and most important,
• Fourth, information customers, justly demanding privacy, affordability and choice.

At some time in the next decades we'll think about the information marketplace in terms of these four components. We won't talk about cable or telephones or cellular or wireless because there will be free and open competition between everyone who provides and delivers information.

This Administration intends to create an environment that stimulates a private system of free-flowing information conduits.

It will involve a variety of affordable and innovative appliances and products giving individuals and public institutions the best possible opportunity to be both information customers and providers.

Anyone who wants to form a business to deliver information will have the means of reaching customers. And any person who wants information will be able to choose among competing information providers, at reasonable prices.

That's what the future will look like -- say, in ten or fifteen years. But how do we get from here to there?

This is the key question for the government. (...)

The full text is available on: http://www.ibiblio.org/nii/goremarks.html#

Now that we're close to enter 2014, it's fantastic to see everyday how this 20 years old strategy has been converted into daily reality. Much faster than we all expected, and so global in every way: geographies, people and communities, businesses, ideas, politics, services, communication, and technologies of course.
The faster (r)evolution ever seen and ever lived by people.

I suggest that we step back for a moment and have a look at what Al Gore presented to the National Press Club on Dec, 21st 1993. Then close our eyes and try to think forward. Beyond the "coming next" social network or the next buzzy trend, what would you believe should be our collective effort and investment to move forward our online world for the next 20 years?