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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.

 

nack bioWalter Dodson says... How many times have I tried to find something on the Internet and come away disappointed? How about every time! How many search engines does it take to screw in a light bulb? That depends on which browser the light bulb is using, but don't get me started on that. The fact that the search engine services have emerged as the leaders of the pack is all the evidence you need. Collectively, they’re nothing more than a giant billboard exclaiming the WWW’s desperate need for order. I don’t want to lookup "Financial Services" and then scan descriptions of 8,000 potential sources before getting down to work. The day’s not long enough for that. Hell, the week isn’t long enough for that!

And why am I always hearing about this vast storehouse of information on the Internet? It must be hiding in ftp archives or gopher holes or something. Thank God they didn’t store the Dead Sea Scrolls on the Internet, we never would have found them!

When I access AOL for Financial Service information, I get a quick list of the twenty-odd flavors necessary to represent the spectrum of topics. I get what I need and I get it fast. That’s worth paying for. The content is the focus. It’s the information that I want not the chance to download yet another browser update.

Maybe some people don’t have anything better to do than surf around looking for something cool, but for those who want to get information and put it to work, AOL is the place to be.

ack bioJackie Stone says... Of course AOL is for sissies, but there’s 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. It’s 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, we’ll 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 it’s proven that the size of the audience is not the measure of the program’s quality. Just because I’m more interested in Usenet hosted discussions than the teeny-bopper dominated chat areas of AOL doesn’t mean everybody will be or should be. Wrestlemania just isn’t 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: Don’t 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... I’ve 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