Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Bowling Alleys and Tornadoes: G&K Hunting Grounds -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: HeyRainier who wrote (64)	7/27/1999 1:31:00 AM
From: Mike Buckley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 153

Rainier, Fun discussion! Uncle Frank would tell both of us that the issue you mention about AOL's e-mail address is what makes their business model a "sticky" one for customers. "Sticky" suggests the inconvenience of switching as opposed to the dollar cost of switching. Being sticky is second only to being expensive to switch. :) If instant messaging is the killer app of the Internet, what is e-mail? :) Perhaps AOL's next step is to prevent non-AOL users from sending e-mail to its AOL users. I realize that the e-mail situation is not analagous with the instant messaging because e-mail is part of the Internet Protocol, but I have to wonder if AOL isn't getting a little too arrogant. AOL doesn't want non-AOL cusomters sending their instant messages for free over their network the way people send e-mails. Yet AOL wants cable companies to sell their cable bandwidth to AOL at the same price they sell it to Excite@Home and RoadRunner. For the record, I'm not trying to turn this into an AOL pro or con thread. Instead, I'm following your lead in trying to determine the extent to which instant messaging might or might not be the domain of a gorilla. --Mike Buckley