On the dialtone and customer service issue I've heard antedotal
information that, "my ISP is great, AOL sucks." The reality is that,
on the average, the converse is true. Most ISPs run PGrades in the
double figures and have no customer support to speak of. AOL has
beefed up their modems and their support. They're the best in the
industry--certainly the best nationally.
On the price issue, you've got to realize that, by definition, you are
not AOL's market. If you are into IRC and IP stacks and DNS and
spend 30 hours per month online, you are not mass market. You're
smarter than the average bear. I hope you realize, though, that
you shouldn't be recommending Netcom to your mother! The point is
AOL is targeting the low to middling segment for usage and technical
sophistication. That's where the $ is! A $9.95 price fits the bill
in this segment. Even if you believe in your heart of hearts that
Netcom is the right choice for your mom, Netcom aint making $ and
Netcom aint gonna make $ anytime soon. Just go to Edgar or AOL and
download their financials. Really ugly!
On the content issue, yes the Web has more content than AOL. No
question. But, AOL puts that content into context, making it more
valuable. You counter, what about Yahoo. They have categories and
that's all I need. Problem is, Yahoo is again too complicated for
the mass market and Yahoo doesn't edit, they simply list ad nauseum.
Also, AOL does have exclusive content. And, content providers like
The Wall Street Journal, Quote.com, Time-Warner/Pathfinder, etc. are
all beginning to charge for content! You just can't deliver great
content and support it with ads. Look at Pathfinder. They're
spending tens of millions per year yet only getting about $6 million
in advertising. Don't gotta be a rocket scientist to figure they
aint making $.
On the technology issue, you say I want the latest and greatest
software, not some AOL proprietary browser or chat or email. If
you anxiously await the latest beta of Netscape 4.0, knock yourself
out. Again, you're not mass market. Go to an ISP and reconfigure
your DNS Server, SMTP/POP3 Server, NNTP Server, etc. Have fun, but
remember, a lot of folks don't have a Pentium 166 w/ISDN and the
knowledge to reconfigure software. We're in a low tech, narrowband
world for mass market. That's where AOL is focusing, rightly so.
On censorship, again we're talking mass market vs sophisticates. If
you've got an account with four screennames for you, your husband,
and your two kids, you probably want Parental Controls and monitored
chat rooms. Don't even start the argument that your ISP with some
web software can make the Internet safe for your kids! Cyberpatrol,
etc. are OK, but they ain't the answer.
I could go on, but you get my point. AOL IS MASS MARKET. YOU,
BECAUSE YOU'RE POSTING HERE, ARE NOT. AOL should not try to be an
ISP, let GNN attack that very unprofitable segment. In fact, I would
argue that AOL should spin off GNN, attack that segment, and not
dilute AOL stock with a money pit ISP. |
