And few historical posts from AOL.
Friday, Oct 3 1997 7:35AM ET
Reply # of 14
Andre, aol stock is interesting in that you hear all over about seemingly insignifigant things, the pr dept. at aol just jams it down your throat. but the bad news never really gets talked about. i feel a change coming though. all the institutional investers are getting itchy.
Wednesday, Oct 8 1997 12:19PM ET
Reply # of 14
if you want some news to drool over,check out the news on at&t. they are getting very aggresive w/ internet/intranet for business. who would you want to advertise with if you were a serious business ? AT&T or aol ?
Wednesday, Oct 15 1997 1:22PM ET
Reply # of 14
O.K.....would someone please explain to me what is going on w/ aol ? i am sitting here wondering what the hell is driving this crap up. am i the biggest fool to short this or what ?
Wednesday, Nov 12 1997 9:10PM ET
Reply # of 14
well isn't this nice to finally see aol flounder. although it has been very painfull at times, i feel good for all the aol bears out there...and i hope the drop has a long way to go. i felt it appropriate to put "house of cards" back up.
Tuesday, Apr 21 1998 6:23PM ET
Reply # of 14
Hi All,
I was subscribing to AOL in Feb timeframe (Trying that 1 mo. free) and cancelled. When I cancelled, they offerred me another free month. I took it.
After another month, I cancelled, they offerred me two months free !!
AOL really sucks!!!
Most of the times it is very difficult to access the internet and it keeps disconnecting.
I've experimented with six Internet Providers..
I was one of those "heavy users" on AOL. My AOL bill for 1995 was over $3000. AOL has some strengths - the comprehensive keyword searchable software library, AOL chat is technically superior to Internet Relay Chaos, and the overall integration of the software is a benefit to new users.
Having said that, I've come to the conclusion that the days of a Nationwide online service (ISP or otherwise) are numbered.Infi-Net is my guess of what a national ISP might look like if any of them survive.
Friday, Aug 9 1996 10:07PM ET
Reply # of 10591
Same here: checked out of Copuserve, Prodigy and tried AOL for
only two hours before I said "good bye". Keep throwing away unsolicited
diskettes and CD from Compu and AOL. Prodigy doesn't have a penny for
mass marketing.
Used local Internet provider for over one year now at $ 8.00/hr with
unlimited 24-hour usage. Never had a problem.
I'd say the Three Big Names above are dead ducks and bells are tolling.
Forget what the anal-ysts are saying about AOL. Just informercials .../CA
Monday, Aug 12 1996 9:09AM ET
Reply # of 10591
Actually the clueless analysts are on your side, hyping a stock their firms want desperatly out of, few such as the Cowen analyst have had a realistic view concerning America OFFLINE's precipitously declining fortunes.
Talk of community is less than nonsense, parroting management's line doesn't make it reality. IRC and mIRC are superior to AOL's chat rooms - gratis and no censorship for those so inclined. Most will find the fun enhanced by not being gouged.
Agreed, there will always be an oversupply of ignorant online users and most will be where they belong, AOL, their natural home. But it is clear those of normal or greater intelligence move on, leaving AOL with a growth rate that does not support the outrageous multiple of its stock.
I said it when AMER was $70. I said it when AMER was $60. I said it when AMER was $50. I said it when AMER was $40. I said it was AMER was $30. And I will say it when AMER is $10.
America Offline is extremely overvalued.
Thursday, Aug 15 1996 1:07PM ET
Reply # of 10591
To All:
I have been monitoring this thread for a while. As a developer and a trader I have a vested interest in this stock from many standpoints. I am firmly bearish on AOL for several reasons. The only 2 things that are good about this company are:
1> As somebody mentioned, the chat rooms online are really good. But the censorship kills it.
2>xxxxx@aol.com is an easy mail address to remember. My mccafs@ix.netcom.com sucks.
My reasons for being bearish about this company come from a technical standpoint. I have been developing activeX controls and plug-ins for IE3 and Netscape for the last 2 years. I was blown away by the functionality and ease of development then. During the next few weeks when the world gets a look at the production release of IE3 and Netscape Navigator 3 AND most importantly the applications and ease of development these products provide, there will be an explosion of applications creativity the likes of which has not been seen since the advent of paper. By this time next year, any current uniqueness of AOL will be forgotten.
I make this assumption based on just the current IE3 and Nav3. Wait until IE4.0 is released with integrated internet objects on the desktop!!! Do you honestly thing anyone will want to go the AOL when everything is at your fingertips on the 95+ desktop?!! I have the beta IE4.0 and I cannot say loud enough how this is going to nuke AOL and other types of similar services. It is a shame but that's the breaks.
I recently read in a research report published by a large global Investment bank that AOL spends on average $45.00 per user in avertising. I do not believe with a falling subsciber base and fierce internet competition that they will be able to keep this up. If they do not, most people will go to other ISP's which they will probably do anyway. It is also just a matter of time before your ISP becomes the phone company and it is all integrated into your phone bill.
As for other technical issues, there are sound and video and conferencing applications being developed and planned right now through the internet and IE3 in particular that will make us all wonder in a couple of years how we ever got along without them. This reminds me of the ATM machine. But the main advantage to this technology will be that anyone with a html editor, or Visual Basic, or a plethora of other tools will be able to custom tailor their environments. I do not think AOL is a good platform for development in applications, or capital appreciation for that matter. Get out now before the bloodbath really begins. I see $20 by end of year.
One more thing, it makes me sad to think that soon Microsoft will be even more dominant in almost all aspects of computing. Netscape's days are numbered as well. I trully hope that companies like Netscape and AOL and Novell will somehow develop creative solutions that will COMPETE with MS. You see what competition from Netscape did to MS, they kicked ass. With no or insignificant competition I wonder if they will be as technically innovative. I certainly hope this will happen, but as for companies like Novell, and AOL especially I invest with my head not with my heart. Buy your put options now while they are still reasonably priced because of non-technical analysts oblivious to what is coming in "The Road Ahead".
It is really sad and an indication of the future of AOL. Get out NOWWWWWWWWW!!!
Aug 15 1996 6:23PM ET
Reply # of 10591
It will take a lot more than a few unique items that AOL offers for it
to survive. They need to fix that lousy front end , lower the cost, or add more hours, offer full net access, stop censoring, etc , etc, etc.
They wont go out of business but they are not worth $ 30 a share either.
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