Who audits AOL's membership numbers? Message Board

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Technology Stocks : Who audits AOL's membership numbers?

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To: yard_man who wrote (1)	11/27/1996 1:21:00 PM
From: van wang	of 65

message to all...why aol should be bid until other competitors wise up? aol is the only internet co. that recognizes itself as a marketing company (unfortunately not a broker yet)...and it does a pretty nifty job for now most internet cos. compete on cost or on regional presence...but the users are going to force the issue...first content creators cannot continue website without compensation and so paying for access without any other benefits is not appealing..also sooner or later the bells will raise fees on usage--no doubt...users (notin college) are just getting to know the potential with internet but the younger folks (like college students) probably find aol a waste of money... this trend will gradually be the case as users become wiser that low cost internet cos. can provide the same if only we wish to bookmark our favorite sites and get a subscription to web magazines the winner will be internet cos that create value as brokers...providing users with membership services that include a package of content sites with all in one fees...content creators will want to be in the membership because volume will be higher than they ever imagine...internet providers are poor at content creation because they have any businesses that they can ride off the infrastructure (like magazines) these become cyberclubs with membership fees and real dollar and quality benefits...an example is the NBA...the league is a coalition of owners and the NBA markets the collective assets better than individual clubs...marketing has tremendous scale benefits but this must be targeted and not just a general family stuff...there will be cyberclubs for different established demographic niches (e.g. senior citizens), market niches (e.g. investors) and demographic niches (e.g. Northeast)...now in addition to user fees, internet providers can sell advertisers because access and demographic profiles can be quantified...remember there are very few magazines that can boast circulation above 1 million and cable channels that boast large audience---these mediums cant even quantify the access(or measure purchases)...there is also a tremendous amount of brand extension strategies for advertisers/sponsors provided they believe the medium is relevant the key is size within these niches...being big and first to sign up popular content creators (like Silicon investors for investment club) on a proprietary basis are real advantages...in addition, large and recognized memberships (with message boards)is also a competitive barrier--much like the professional internets...who wants to join a club where the top people are in another club--how good is an investment club if members are bad investors? when this comes--content creators will be compensated and expand investment...all the better for users If I have the financial backing i create a cyberclub targeting a relevant niche (like tech investors) and sign up CNET, TechWeb, Silicon investor, magazines, etc...this is the way to go because there is not ONE internet co. i wish to be with so now i go with the lowest cost anyway Im bid for aol every since the price change...i also think size is tremendous so there will be alot of consolidation ahead...any recommendations??? by the way, is Microsoft the real life business version of the BORG in the Star Trek...resistance is futile

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