It is amazing to me, to think back on how insurmountable the AOL juggernaut was believed to be. If, as a business, you wanted to reach people on 'The Internet', you just had to go through AOL. They had it locked up, and then all of a sudden they didn't. I mean, we saw 1-2-3 and WordPerfect go down - heck, we pushed - but compared to them, AOL really had a glass jaw.
I am glad you included the section on the Memex. It was always a hot reference (sorry) in the discussions at the time. I think it also highlighted how people thought the amount of linked knowledge was somehow knowable instead of an unbounded computing problem. That difference of perspective led people to believe walled gardens were feasibly competitive.
It is amazing to me, to think back on how insurmountable the AOL juggernaut was believed to be. If, as a business, you wanted to reach people on 'The Internet', you just had to go through AOL. They had it locked up, and then all of a sudden they didn't. I mean, we saw 1-2-3 and WordPerfect go down - heck, we pushed - but compared to them, AOL really had a glass jaw.
I am glad you included the section on the Memex. It was always a hot reference (sorry) in the discussions at the time. I think it also highlighted how people thought the amount of linked knowledge was somehow knowable instead of an unbounded computing problem. That difference of perspective led people to believe walled gardens were feasibly competitive.