The World's First Internet Cafe; circa 1995
....Incredible. A unit of 2x4s and one of 2x6s. Sweat labor, peanut butter, jelly, pizza and lots of glue. Glue that binds boards, and the kind that binds people. We were there, and the experience brought most of us together in a way that remains in a very real sense among the best life experiences they have ever had —at work or otherwise! The soon to be launched Speakeasy tribute website speaks for itself, as do the voices of the scores of people who wanted to put this in their owns words. So it will be...
THE MISSION
Our decision to craft a "mission statement" in 1994 proved prescient, and by 1995/1996 it seemed like every business large and small was getting on the band wagon. Microsoft came by to "see what Internet experts and the Belltown hipsters were up to" at least once a month, and you will recall how I met and shook Bill Clinton's hand at the Paramount to tell him we were doing our part in creating an Internet for the people, by the people. ("Well good for you guys..." he said, as his assistant took my card from his hand and filed it away with seeming care with feigned interest. Hey, no complaints from us, we just met POTUS and said 'Speakeasy' right to his face!!
So quaint today it is hard to explain and evoke those heady days, but if you were there you will damn sure never forget them. How many hours did we stand on concrete floors happy to help anyone who wished to, gain an easy and immediate first experience on the Internet: At T1-Speeds long before 99% of Americans had even heard of "dial-up"! Novelty today: We no less than invented the idea of high-speed Internet in a welcoming and supportive public cafe.
"Tyler let's do this, (don't you think) this could be the most significant thing to happen since electricity... I seriously believe that... ". To your every credit, that much you "grokked" very quickly. Then came the hard part: Making the decision to actually do something about it. Hey, what are older brother's for if not to encourage you to spread your wings even if you don't feel ready, right?
Indeed, 'The Net' became the focus not just of our lives from that day forward, and for the next 13 years, it became the single most significant technical achievement in a century.
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