"For most of the '90s and the first part of this decade, content providers who wanted to publish online only needed to worry about the graphical web browser"
About this Quote
The subtext is a warning about complacency disguised as historical recap. By framing the ’90s and early 2000s as a period of single-surface certainty, Davidson sets up the coming disruption: mobile, apps, RSS, social feeds, email clients, screen readers, platform policies, and all the weird intermediaries that turned “publish” into “negotiate.” The quote anticipates a shift from building pages to managing ecosystems, where the browser is no longer the default gate but one viewport among many.
“Content providers” is another tell. It’s an industry term that flattens writers, editors, and creators into suppliers feeding a pipeline. That choice hints at the broader cultural context: the web professionalizing, monetizing, and standardizing itself, right before fragmentation forced everyone to rethink what “online” even means.
The line works because it’s understated. Davidson doesn’t grandstand about technological revolution; he reminds you how narrow the problem once seemed, then lets the reader feel the weight of everything that came after.
Quote Details
| Topic | Internet |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Davidson, Mike. (2026, January 17). For most of the '90s and the first part of this decade, content providers who wanted to publish online only needed to worry about the graphical web browser. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/for-most-of-the-90s-and-the-first-part-of-this-75066/
Chicago Style
Davidson, Mike. "For most of the '90s and the first part of this decade, content providers who wanted to publish online only needed to worry about the graphical web browser." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/for-most-of-the-90s-and-the-first-part-of-this-75066/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"For most of the '90s and the first part of this decade, content providers who wanted to publish online only needed to worry about the graphical web browser." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/for-most-of-the-90s-and-the-first-part-of-this-75066/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
