Some Cautions About Methodology and Interpreting the Findings
This is the second specific canvassing of Internet specialists and analysts by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. While a wide range of opinion from experts and the representatives of key organizations and interested institutions was sought, this survey should not be taken as a representative sample of all Internet experts, nor as a comprehensive overview of all the best thinking about the future of information and communication technologies and methods. By design, this survey was an “opt in,” self-selecting effort. Only the views of those who chose to respond to our invitation are represented. That process does not yield a random, representative sample.
This survey is our best effort to prompt some of the leaders in the field to share their thoughts and predictions. The limitations of the sample should inform any discussion of these findings. More than half of the respondents are Internet pioneers who were online before 1993. Roughly one-quarter of the respondents said they live and work in a nation outside of North America. While many respondents are at the pinnacle of Internet leadership, some of the survey respondents are “working in the trenches” of building the Web.