HackerTube.dev

Paul Otlet, visioning a web in 1934

Attila Gárdos · 102.1K views · 2008-06-17 · 1:20

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

A one-minute clip about Paul Otlet, the Belgian bibliographer who in 1934 imagined users accessing a remote database through an electric telescope over a phone line. It presents his vision as a precursor of the web.

On Hacker News

Brought up whenever early predictions of the internet and the web's origins are discussed.

Recommended by 1 HN people across 1 months · HN mentions 2014–2022

Topics

History of computingInternet culture & memesFuturism & technology and society
Search by tags
paul otlethistory of the webmundaneuminformation science1934

What people said

tokai · 2019-01 · Recommendation

I always have to mention Paul Otlet, when the topic of early predictions of technology comes up. Too bad he was all but forgotten. [VIDEO] [LINK]

Read the original HN comment ↗
labrador · 2022-10 · Reference

He's not predicting the internet. He's predicting increasing customizations of products. Alvin Toffler continues McLuhan's themes in his book Future Shock [1], which was also not about the internet. Someone who did predict the internet was Paul Otlet in 1934 [2] [1] [LINK] [2] [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗
Create · 2018-07 · Reference

Are you referring to the stripped down SGML, RPC or hyperlinks? Or the combination? Because all three have been around much before. In many flavours and mixes. The WWW variant’s adoption had more to do with politics than scientific/technical merit. [VIDEO] [LINK] or [LINK]

Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by Attila Gárdos, played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks
  • SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
  • Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources