alt Hacker NewsPeople talked about streaming years before Netflix. Online maps apps date back to the 1990s. E-commerce as well.
I definitely get the impression that many people thought it would eventually create shopping, streaming, and mapping sites.
I think people were less likely to have predicted things like social media or YouTube, though those weren't ideas sprung from a vacuum either.
If it were that simple and obvious, Blockbuster would have beat everyone to streaming. Sears would have digitized their catalog and used their vast brick-and-mortar stores as fulfillment centers for same-day shipping.
None of these shifts were obviously the right bet and many organizations lost because they missed the opportunity. Now orgs are on the same horizon and I can see why they don't want to miss this window.