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When the Internet publicity began, I remember being struck by how much the world was not the way we thought it was, that there was infinite variation in how people viewed the world.
Eric Schmidt
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the disparity between perceptions of reality and the vast diversity of perspectives revealed by the internet.

Eric Schmidt's quote reflects on the transformative impact of the internet on our understanding of the world. It suggests that the rise of online communication unveiled a myriad of perspectives and experiences, emphasizing that reality is not monolithic but rather a complex tapestry of individual views shaped by diverse backgrounds and cultures.

Themes

InternetPerspectivesVariationPerceptionReality

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about social media's impact on society, one might use this quote to illustrate the diverse opinions that emerge online.

More from Eric Schmidt

We run the company by questions, not by answers.
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For those who say you're thinking too big... be smart enough not to listen. For those who say the odds are too small ... be dumb enough to give it a shot. And for those who ask, how can you do that?... look them in the eyes and say, I'll figure it out.
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The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.
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We used to think that the enterprise was the hardest customer to satisfy, but we were wrong. It turns out, consumers are harder than the enterprise because the consumer will not give you a second chance.
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The characteristic of great innovators and great companies is they see a space that others do not. They don't just listen to what people tell them; they actually invent something new, something that you didn't know you needed, but the moment you see it, you say, 'I must have it.'
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People who bet against the Internet, who think that somehow this change is just a generational shift, miss that it is a fundamental reorganizing of the power of the end user. The Internet brings tremendous tools to the end user, and that end user is going to use them.
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