S2R Only!!!! Com 125

In the beginning...Derek Lackaff told us not to be cliche. But for the unaware, my name is John Ranic and I eat, sleep and breathe cliche. But maybe, just for this one time, I'll try not to be, but you have to promise not to tell.

Long before a man named Tom determined what our nation's youth would be doing online, the internet was a much simpler place. The corners of this interweb that spidered out of control had to be navigated blindly, often leaving surfers high and dry and unaware of some of the best features that were being spawned around them.

In the early 80's, the Control Video Corporation was formed and founded by Bill von Meister, which in a sense, was the corner stone of what would become AOL and would completely change the way we navigated and used the internet forever.

The CVC was mainly a game service for the Atari. In 1985, after a slew of new members were brought on board, the CVC became Quantum Computer Services. Jim Kimsey would become the chief executive officer in 1985. Kimsey would groom his marketing director to take over as CEO when he retired in 1991.

In 1985 Quantum Link was launched, which was an online service for the Commodore 64. In 1988, Apple Link was launched for, go figure, Apple and McIntosh computers. After Quantum Link parted ways with its original partner PlayNet Inc, it changed its name to...AOL.

And that's history. And sometimes history is boring, the repercussions on the other hand, are anything but. The effect that AOL would have on the internet would revitalize arguably the most important invention of the last half century and would hold ramifications that are sure to effect the world to come.

"From the beginning, AOL included online games in its mix of products; many classic and casual games were included in the original PlayNet software system." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aol)

Graphic chat rooms, online fictional series, and the first Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing game (Neverwinter Nights) were all to be found within AOL's perimeters. Lives today are ruled and ruined by MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft. The revenue gained from subscriptions is astronomical.

Steering away from describing basic renovations, the composition of AOL was and is ever evolving. Chat rooms, e-mail, buddy lists, games, news and so much more were all under one housing, which was completely new to the online world.

This simplification of e-tools made communication with friends, clients, entertainment, and news sources all within the range of your monitor. Miss your friends? Need to seal an important deal? Bored? Feeling frisky and or the need to pretend to be a lesbian in order to score some sweet new pics in a chatroom? Send to receive only!


"AOL was considered Internet training wheels," says branding consultant Rob Frankel. "It offered a closed system on the Web. It had mainframes that cached the Web and offered people appropriate pages. AOL thought it could keep people captive." (http://www.informationweek.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=193104723)

Taking heed of the success and ingenious of AOL, more and more internet service providers have popped up throughout the years. Compuserve, NetZero, Road Runner, EarthLink, are just few of the providers that would go on to find success after mimicking AOL.

Though AOL has as many features as ever, more and more people are leaning towards using other basic internet providers/connections. What was once bordering on a monopoly is now one of many. Price, different online communities, ease of use all factor in.

With all of that being said, touches of AOL can be seen everywhere on the internet. Even on sites like Myspace and Facebook, who house their own chats and friends an messaging providers. AOL has spread more seed online than a star Morman basketball player in Utah.

It's been fun watching AOL grow and making the most out of it. Staying in touch with friends and getting in trouble by my parents for perusing things I probably shouldn't have. The future of AOL lies within it's past and all of the sites and communities that draw from it. And that, my dear, dear Lackaff, is a myriad.