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In the glory days of AOL I ran into non-tech savvy users who thought that it was the internet. I was met with blank stares when I opened another IE instance. I
by michaelfeathers 13y ago
In the glory days of AOL I ran into non-tech savvy users who thought that it was the internet. I was met with blank stares when I opened another IE instance.
In many cases, companies that develop software for non-tech-savvy users go the extra mile to make things easy to use. For me, it's been easy to believe that it was somewhat predatory to make your "thing" a complete portal, but I can see now that it is really a consequence of trying to approach users at their level. What irks me is when it seems like a conscious lock-in strategy.
- 83457 13y agoTo be fair, initially it was a portal to itself. As in AOL did not original provide internet access, heck it was pre-www days. When they added it making it part of the existing portal interface was logical for various reasons including reducing customer service. But yeah, they also wanted people to use their content over internet sources.
- michaelfeathers 13y agoThanks. I forgot all about that. What it became makes a lot of sense in that light.
- rartichoke 13y agoI still have a client who is like this now. He still goes through AOL and thinks it's the internet. The funny thing about it though is that he usually says things like "the page needs more pop", "make that bright red and bold because I can't see it", etc.. AKA, he has no idea what he's talking about but thinks he does. I stopped taking new work from him because it was the most infuriating thing imaginable.
- ryanmcbride 13y agoMy friend's mom still connects via dial-up to AOL to check her email and read the news. Until my friend told me this I was completely unaware that AOL still offered internet services.
- mmanfrin 13y agoWhat's the AOL Keyword of your website?
- ryanmcbride 13y agoIf I only knew when I was a kid, and had access only to AOL kid's, that I could open IE and look at all the porn in the world... My life might be very different now.