| AOL versus the Internet Here's what Walt, Jackie, and Scott (best audience submission so far) said... Remember to tell us what you think. The best audience response wins a FREE Spike Webb t-shirt.
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Jackie Stone says... Of course AOL
is for sissies, but theres more to it than
that. Some people want information selected and
interpreted for them. Pre-packaged like the
processed foods they eat. But others have
realized that direct communication is the only
way to keep the biased filters turned off. The
Internet is about publishing information. Its
about opening the channels of communication between people so
that some of us can get past the Neilson ratings and Barbra
Walters and mass marketed corporate media control. The big
media companies have given up on substantive content. The
audience is larger for "60 Minutes," "Hard Copy," and "20/20."
Okay never mind us, well go to our browsers instead.Come to think of it, maybe the audience for AOL will be larger too. If television has proven nothing else its proven that the size of the audience is not the measure of the programs quality. Just because Im more interested in Usenet hosted discussions than the teeny-bopper dominated chat areas of AOL doesnt mean everybody will be or should be. Wrestlemania just isnt my cup of tea even though it has been known to crash the AOL network due to subscriber demand. Sorry, that was a cheap shot even though it's true. As a member of the front-line forces in the battle to keep some accurate information flowing, I only ask this: Dont mistake AOL for a new communications medium unless being electronic is your only criteria. For my money, they may as well print it out and throw it in my driveway every morning. Hey, wait a minute... Ive got an idea!!! | ||
Scott Dahlstrom says...It's all
about basically two things... Money and
information. AOL offers many good services, but
the price for prolonged use is rather high. I've
seen people that have gotten billed in excess of
$100.00 a month. What a waste. Then there comes
into play the issue of Information. If you only
want 1 perspective or way to get your
information, then AOL is just fine. I personally would rather
look at as many different perspectives about a subject that I
can. If you go into AOL's area about finance, and you get their
information, you may be missing out on info that did not make
it to their service. In essence, AOL is like only reading the
paper or watching a single channel for news. You get one
opinion, one flavor and one choice. Part of the 'net's charm is
that you can get opinion from several different people on many
different subjects, not a one sided "Take our word for it..."
argument. Besides, anyone that say's the 'net's too hard to
access hasn't looked around for a local provider. Usually about
$20.00 a month is all it takes for UNLIMITED access. Not a bad
deal if you're an average person in North America that spends
4.25 hours per WEEK on the 'net. Hmmm.. Let's see... at $2.95
an hour on AOL... that comes out to.... I don't even wanna
think about it... Sdahls1@midtown.net | ||