Ooh La La: The Only Crypto Chart You Need to Know
Line graphs aren’t known for their memetic power.
This one is the exception.
I first encountered this chart a few months ago. Since then, it has become an earworm. Like a catchy tune that pops into your head unannounced, I find myself thinking about the implications of this chart at the most random times. Could be because the chart has become intertwined with another earworm in my brain: the 1973 classic, “Ooh La La” by the Faces (later reprised by Rod Stewart). It’s one of the catchiest pop songs ever written, likely because the chorus is a universally relatable fact of human existence sung with a handclap rhythm that burrows deep into your brain.
I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger.
I hear those words every time I look at this chart. The internet and I “grew up together”. The 90’s were the decade I came of age. I have memories tied to the green trend line on that chart, memories that sing to me, “I wish… that… I knew what I know now… when I was younger.”
1991: The first time I saw email, I was a kid. My mother booted up the prodigy ISP software on our Windows 3.0 home computer to send "electronic mail" to her father, my grandfather, who was serving in the first Gulf War.
I was a whip-smart, curious kid. I could’ve started a journey down the rabbit hole then known as the “World Wide Web”, but I didn't. Instead, I used my extra brain space to store stats from the backs of baseball cards and plot lines from X-Men comics. “I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger…”1996: I was introduced to e-commerce by my childhood best friend. To deal with the dozen or so stray whiskers emerging on his face, he had acquired a Norelco electric razor for well below retail price by placing the winning bid on some “internet auction thing” called eBay.
I could have invested hours of my summers learning the ins and outs of selling products on the internet, at pretty much the same time that Jeff Bezos was. I didn’t. Instead, I dug ditches and cut grass to earn a couple hundred bucks a week that I spent on video games and attempts to impress girls with lavish dinners at our local Bennigan’s. “I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger…”Early 00’s: In college, I joined Gmail while it was still in beta, I owned a Gen 1 iPod, and was one of the first 500 people at my large public university to sign up for a Facebook account.
I understood the products and platforms that would shape the next two decades. I could have bought Google, Apple or Facebook (now META) stock. I didn’t. “I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger…”
If you are around my age or older, you probably have similar personal connections to that green line on the chart. Like me, you may even hear Rod Stewart or Ronnie Wood’s voice in your head chanting that lament, “I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger…” If you’re younger, you may think “Wow, what a time to be alive [it was]. I wish I had a shot at that kind of opportunity.”
Party like it’s 1999?
If the trip through all the missed opportunities of the early internet has turned the repeating chorus of “Ooh La La” into a depressing lament, maybe it’s time to change the tune. When we look at the adoption curves, we’ll notice that 2023 in crypto coincides with 1999 of the Internet. In 1982, Prince implored his fans to “partly like it’s 1999”. In the early 80s no one could imagine what 1999 would look like, but in 2023 we know it well: In one of the greatest trolls of all time, Prince was insisting on being called by an unpronounceable symbol, and the internet was on the verge of becoming something special. It’s important to recognize though, that while the Internet of 1999 was on the precipice of greatness, it was still pretty clunky, and many “experts” still had their doubts about its staying power. It’s easy to look back with rose-colored glasses, but for all its promise, the trajectory of the internet was difficult for most people to truly grasp, at the time.
Here’s a look at the internet of 1999:
The top search engines were Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, and Alta Vista. Google search was still in beta and George Bell of Excite famously passed on an offer to buy Google for $750k.
Amazon primarily sold books and CDs and was headquartered on the same street as a pawn shop, porn store and heroin-needle exchange.
Most individuals accessed the internet via a 56k dial-up modem. Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator were the most popular browsers.
Netflix began their DVD by mail subscription service in September of ‘99.
The year began only seven months removed from Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman’s infamous quote: “By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the Internet's impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine's."
From “What if?” to “Why Not?”
When I look at the picture of the internet in 1999, it brings up slew of “what ifs” in my mind. What if I could go back and direct a bit more of my time, resources, talent, and curiosity toward this world-changing technology? How different would my life be right now? Would I be in a better place financially? Could I have made a greater impact on the world? The green trend line of internet adoption begs these questions.
Yet, the still-to-be-drawn blue line of crypto adoption begs another question: “Why not?”. If you had the opportunity to go back to the 1999 internet, knowing what you know now, what would you do? How would you invest your time, your money, your talent?
Join Us on the Journey
Answering that question is what Blockshine is about. Our mission is to help you navigate this brave new frontier, to see the ways that blockchain technology is shaping our future much like the pre-millennium internet. Perhaps, together we’ll be able to identify the crypto version of Amazon in its 2023 headquarters on skid row. Maybe we’ll be able to spot the difference between the web3 counterparts of 1999 Google and Ask Jeeves. What we will not do is let the opportunity pass us by. While there are certainly some key differences, the growth of the internet gave us a good roadmap. Perhaps we can re-write that chorus to “I’m glad that I know what I know now while crypto is younger.”
We’ll do this in easy to understand language and analogies. We promise not to get bogged down in technical jargon or shouty hype, just crypto concepts distilled down to their pure essence for quick and potent shots that get straight to the point.
Blockshine is a publication of the Alabama Blockchain Alliance, member organization of the US Blockchain Coalition. All content is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. If you are interested in learning more about the ABA or how to get involved, visit us at alabamablockchain.org