The Internet: "A Slow Road To Nowhere"

[Fleet]

I was looking through some old magazines (National Enquirer, Globe, etc) and came across this article. Somewhat out of date, I would say! And inaccurate, to say the least.

From the National Enquirer, dated Sept. 10, 1996...

[Marvo301]

Oops! I wonder if the guy who wrote this article is related to the music producer who turned down the Beatles? :crazy: :lol:

[80sTrivia]

I was surprised to find this guy's book is still in print and available @ amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Silicon-Snake-Oil-Thoughts-Information/dp/0385419945/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291463212&sr=1-1

[Janice]

That's a riot. I've read that, way back, many people said that "talkies" would never take over silent movies, lol. Many actors lost their jobs because their voices were weak or just didn't sound good on the big screen.

[old grouch]

If it's in the Enquirer, then it must be true.

[Janice]

If it's in the Enquirer, then it must be true.
This guy really did write the article, and 80sTrivia looked up his book on Amazon and it's there.

[dakert]

Anyone here sign up for AOL for 19.99 in early 1997? It took a month or 2 before we were even able to log on because the dial-up was so busy. :eek:

[Fleet]

That's a riot. I've read that, way back, many people said that "talkies" would never take over silent movies, lol. Many actors lost their jobs because their voices were weak or just didn't sound good on the big screen.
And also when the claim was made that TV will never replace radio! Although, to its credit, radio has hung in there and I probably have radio on more than the TV.

[Fleet]

Anyone here sign up for AOL for 19.99 in early 1997? It took a month or 2 before we were even able to log on because the dial-up was so busy. :eek:
I didn't have the Internet until Aug., 1998, but I do remember how slow dial-up was!

[80sTrivia]

I couldn't imagine using dial-up now... I wouldn't have the patience to wait a half hour for a picture to upload!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[PZelda]

I remember dialup, and it wasn't THAT bad. :lol: Yes, you'd have to wait about 5 to 10 minutes for the full page to load. But not a single picture.

The school I went to in the mid-90s already had a fast-speed connection to the internet but now that I think of it, it was fast for its time - it wouldn't be considered fast now.

I actually miss the 90s for technology -- because it was so new, so exciting. You just couldn't stop exploring the wonderful wonders to be found online. :) And I loved seeing the Netscape Navigator logo come up every time I launched Netscape. :lol:

http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/7038.gif

And I loved the "N" logo in the corner when it was loading a page - shooting stars and the like would fly by the "N". :)

Oh, and the first email address I had... They didn't even have a website yet. I had to log onto a telnet server to access my emails. Now THAT'S seriously dating me. :lol:

Damn. Now I'm nostalgic...

[Janice]

Anyone here sign up for AOL for 19.99 in early 1997? It took a month or 2 before we were even able to log on because the dial-up was so busy. :eek:
That would be me. I actually paid $24.99 for the longest time, then $19.00 to $14.99 to free. I can still hear that awful noise when logging on. What a difference with Comcast. I still use AOL for my e-mail.

[Brad]

That would be me. I actually paid $24.99 for the longest time, then $19.00 to $14.99 to free. I can still hear that awful noise when logging on. What a difference with Comcast. I still use AOL for my e-mail.

When I worked for AOL from 2002-2004, the company actually believed that they weren't going to lose many customers by keeping the price of their dial-up service $23.90(!), when competitors like NetZero and Juno were popping up with $9.99 services. They believed that their "exclusive content" (keywords and such) was their selling point.

It was my job to try and talk customers out of canceling their accounts. It was horrible, but I was good at it and made a lot of money. Sometimes I only needed to throw two free months at the customer, and other times I needed to go into all-out sales-pitch mode.

I was a good salesman, but talking people into keeping a product they didn't need--that I didn't even believe in--made me very unhappy.

[Fleet]

That would be me. I actually paid $24.99 for the longest time, then $19.00 to $14.99 to free. I can still hear that awful noise when logging on. What a difference with Comcast. I still use AOL for my e-mail.
I actually still have dial-up on one of my phone lines. Because I didn't want to change my email address and for a back up. It came in handy once. My cable high-speed internet was not connecting, I called Time Warner for service and the earliest appointment was 3 or 4 days away. So I started up my old computer (eMachines) and was on the internet using dial up. Much better than having to go to a library!

[Fleet]

When I worked for AOL from 2002-2004, the company actually believed that they weren't going to lose many customers by keeping the price of their dial-up service $23.90(!), when competitors like NetZero and Juno were popping up with $9.99 services. They believed that their "exclusive content" (keywords and such) was their selling point.

It was my job to try and talk customers out of canceling their accounts. It was horrible, but I was good at it and made a lot of money. Sometimes I only needed to throw two free months at the customer, and other times I needed to go into all-out sales-pitch mode.

I was a good salesman, but talking people into keeping a product they didn't need--that I didn't even believe in--made me very unhappy.
Yeah, I would feel guilty doing that, too.

[Brad]

Yeah, I would feel guilty doing that, too.

The only lie I ever told customers was that I used AOL at home and that I enjoyed it. Other than that, I was completely on the level (my offer, pricing, billing dates; etc). Still, lots of sleepless nights and Tums consumption. It just made me feel icky.

[Fleet]

The only lie I ever told customers was that I used AOL at home and that I enjoyed it. Other than that, I was completely on the level (my offer, pricing, billing dates; etc). Still, lots of sleepless nights and Tums consumption. It just made me feel icky.
At least you were somewhat honest. ;)

[Janice]

The only lie I ever told customers was that I used AOL at home and that I enjoyed it. Other than that, I was completely on the level (my offer, pricing, billing dates; etc). Still, lots of sleepless nights and Tums consumption. It just made me feel icky.
Don't be so hard on yourself. That's just the way it goes with sales. It's not nearly as bad as that AOL agent who refused to let the customer cancel their account. Remember that? It was on audiotape. It was actually hilarious. :lol:

[Brad]

Yeah, that came out several years after I left AOL. That guy was nuts! The recording gave me a good laugh, though, and a slight feeling of vindication that I was no longer there

Thankfully, it had a lot to do with AOL drastically changing their business model: after the recording was released, the agent was fired and AOL got rid of their retention call centers.

[PZelda]

Remember when we'd literally get spammed via snail mail with their damn CDs? I have to admit, I quite enjoyed seeing what they'd send in the mail. There was a CD made to look like a cleaning product label (I FOUND IT! (http://www.angelfire.com/on4/mywishlist/NASCARBIG.jpg) :lol: tiny picture, though), and another one with a Hawaiian grass-skirt dancer on it (that one by far was my fave!). I think it even came in a wooden CD case. This was when I was in high school pre-September 11th, so around 10 years ago by now.

I don't remember what I did with them - most likely threw them away. :lol:

They were useful coasters, though! :D