This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
AOL Was Right
Mar
18
2010
In a way, AOL was ahead of its time.
What’s the difference between Facebook now and AOL back in its day?
Connect with friends, send them things, play games, etc. Facebook, the new AOL. Or AOL, the original Facebook.
The same with Twitter. That’s just AIM revisited. Come to think of it, AIM in its day was about as big as Twitter is now.
The first difference is that AOL provided the internet connection and the services. FB/Twitter just provide the services. AOL had people paying to use their services and they still went under somehow. Once people had options other than dial-up, they didn’t need AOL for the internet connection and the services were an exclusive club – only for those with a subscription.
The other major difference is cell phones – the whole mobile platform. AOL was there for the initial wave of internet popularity, but they peaked then and didn’t recover in order to take advantage of the second wave of smart phones and iPods.
I don’t have a horse in the race, so I don’t care if Facebook and Twitter stick around or fade away. I think the latter is more likely. They, like AOL/AIM, will fade away and then some upstart company will produce a service with a slightly different twist that will be hugely popular for a while.
And repeat.
That which has been is that which will be,And that which has been done is that which will be done.So there is nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
