Steelso vs Real Life

Popped

 

While getting ready for work I saw the above on the back of a Rough Guide. Made me think about AOL and what the hell happened. I was never a member, I never connected to them. But it really does represent the whole INTERNET to a whole lot of people. Discs for AOL signup where everywhere, every Sunday newspaper, every magazine, every shop. I have no idea how many they produced but they must have filled a couple of landfills.

And the Ads! The commercials on UK tv with Connie, the rather school ma’am-esque guide to AOL. I can’t find any of the old ads but I did find a story of her getting her phone nicked! A very informative story about her being 5ft 11″. Her name’s Rachel Willis and she’s been pretty quiet lately. And I can’t find the ads anywhere.

Seeing the keyword made me realise just how far AOL has declined, at least in my perception of them. They were massive, they were the Internet for a great many people. The phrase “You’ve Got Mail” was made their own and was the basis of a film. The AOL/Time Warner merger was seen as the most influential pairing of old and new media evah! I remeber the feeling of acceptance I had when I saw the AOL/Time Warner logo at the end of “Friends”. It seemed like the Internet and all that carry on was legit and part of media as opposed to being a bit of a fad.

And now? All seems so long ago. What the hell went wrong? Where did Connie go? If anyone knows of any good books or articles on this I’d be most grateful.

Thinking a bit more I did have a 90 day trial of AOL back in the day. It was just so I could hear the Lumley welcome me and tell me I had mail. Bless you Lumley.

No comments yet.

Leave a comment